The Round File
by wintergreen825
Summary: This is a place to stash tiny little ficlets that I don't feel warrant posting on their own. It's considered complete, despite being updated, because each "chapter" is finished. Everything varies.
1. Rainy Nights

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Two brothers, both alike in dorky-ness. In fair Grimmauld Place, where we lay our scene.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Game Development (Task #12: Write about Sirius Black & Regulus Black.)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 4E (Rain/Drizzle)  
**Word Count:** 360

(^^)  
**Rainy Nights**  
(^^)

Regulus jumped as thunder rolled outside the townhouse. He yanked the coverlet up over his head and tried to tell himself that eight was far too old to be scared of storms, let alone run to his older brother for protection. He was a Black, and all Blacks were indominable. He was too old to be scared of a bunch of dumb water and noise. He was too old to be scared—

The next crash of thunder shook the shutters of his room, making Regulus startle so badly that he fell from his bed.

He wasted no time scrambling for his door, barely slowing to open the door before racing down the hall to Sirius' room. For his part, the ten-year-old didn't do more than lift the edge of his blanket for Regulus to slip under and pulled him close afterwards. Regulus tucked his head beneath Sirius' chin and tried not to shiver as the storm outside continued. Sirius rubbed his back.

"Just hippogriffs playing tenpin," Sirius muttered, mostly asleep. "Nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not scared," Regulus denied. His voice was too high pitched to make his statement believable. He flinched into Sirius as another crash sounded. "I'm _not_."

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius agreed, "and I'm Stubby Boardman, lead singer of the Hobgoblins and soon-to-be the next romantic lead in a veela knut novel."

"You're a horrid singer," Regulus said, pulling backwards to squint at his brother in the dimness. "You couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid. The kneazles that Bella practices her hexes on yowl more pleasantly than you sing."

"Thank you for that, squirt."

"It's not a compliment."

"Yes, I got that."

"You're really, really, really, really—"

"Does it really deserve this many—"

"—really, really _bad_ singer."

"Go to sleep, Reg," Sirius ordered, still only mildly annoyed. He pulled Regulus back close enough to tuck his head back under his chin. "It's too dark out to put up with all this chatter."

"Love you, Sirius," Regulus whispered as he relaxed completely next to his brother. Sirius moved his head and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Love you, too, squirt."


	2. Shell of a Life

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** What do you do with a NOTP? You bury it in a collection. Thankfully, _together_ is not synonymous with _happy_ or _healthy_.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 7  
**Subject (Task No.):** Advanced Warding (Task #04: Write a story set at night.)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 4B (Eggs)  
**Word Count:** 599

(^^)  
**Shell of a Life**  
(^^)

"Do you ever think about what might have happened if something had been different?"

Neville didn't know what he had been expecting when he had asked the question. Honestly, he hadn't thought about actually asking the question at all. It had just slipped out as they had laid in bed, the darkness of the night tucked around them like the coverlet. Hermione's latest cat curled up between them. Neville thought this one's name was something like Duck or Swan or Goose—he was confident about the fowl theme but nothing else.

What kind of husband was he that he couldn't remember the name of his wife's cat? Even if his memory had never been very keen, he should at least know that much, right? It was common curtesy and simple logic. He lived here. Hermione lived here. So did any of their pets. He should know the beast's name, especially since he was fairly certain it was plotting to eat him, possibly while he was still alive.

"Neville," Hermione answered, sounding as impatient as always, "It's half past ten. We both have to be up early in the morning. Don't you think we should be sleeping? Working through thought experiments can wait."

"Right," Neville agreed. "Sorry."

He didn't understand how Hermione could still call seven o'clock early. He got up at five every day. It was the only way that he could have any time in his little greenhouse before he had to head into the office. To be fair, Hermione did not usually have to be up that early, as she was very efficient at working through her morning routine, allowing her to sleep until eight and still get to work on time.

Not that anyone would complaint if the Minister of Magic was late for work.

No one cared about the quiet man handling booking for the entirety of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, even if he used to be a war hero before he couldn't hack being an Auror. Neville showed up. He did his job with the same plodding enthusiasm as he had the last twenty years. He clocked out and stopped by the Janus Thickley Ward for a visit with his parents, accepting the bubblegum wrappers his mother still pushed into his hands. He came home to cook a dinner that he would eat alone because for all that Hermione was efficient getting out the door of their little house, she was never as good at leaving the Ministry.

Then he would find himself in this exact same place, in the dark with his wife of the same twenty years wondering where everything had gone so meaningless.

"I just wonder sometimes," Neville explained, barely aware of having spoken at all. Maybe this was all a dream he was having. Maybe he was locked in his own version of the Janus Thickley Ward, screaming to be heard. Maybe this was just the universe where things went a little bit sideways. Maybe he was trapped inside an egg like a baby dragon just longing to break free. Maybe he didn't really exist at all.

"Everything seems deeper than it really is when the lights are out," Hermione said with a huff. She rolled over to turn her back to him. Neville wondered how he had ended up marrying her. He couldn't seem to remember the thoughts he had before doing it. He must have loved her, because he had always sworn that he only marry for love just like his parents had. "_Sleep_, Neville. No more thinking."

"Sorry. I just…I just wonder sometimes, is all."


	3. His Blood is Not His Own

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you. As for content, there are several references to the canon abuse from the Dursleys along with two in fic deaths, one of which is a child. Also, Harry is severely disassociated in this, due to said abuse, which can be potentially triggering in itself.

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I may have gone a bit overboard with the socio-political ideology present in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Just the idea came to me of Harry being similar to Cal Lynch and having the burgeoning instincts of a born Assassin. So this is what you get.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A (T3; SN; FPC; BAON; Star; Fence; Spring Bingo)  
**Individual Challenges:** Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Advice from the Mug; Forehead Kisses; Seeds; Gryffindor MC; Thief MC; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent (Y); Quiet Time; Short Jog  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Game Development (Task #2: Write about an assassin.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Auction [4.4] (The Leaky Cauldron); Gym (Secrets); Insane Prompts Challenge [730] (Assassin's Creed); 365 Words [76] (Shadow); Pinata [Medium] (Trio Era)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 2E (Ribbon/Cord)  
**Representation(s):** Disassociated Harry Potter; Child Abuse; Assassin OFC  
**Bonus Challenges: **Nontraditional; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Spare)  
**Word Count:** 1277

(^^)  
**His Blood is Not His Own**  
(^^)

Harry went with the bearded man. What else was he going to do, when faced with someone who could literally tie knots in rifle barrels with his bare hands? If there was one thing which he had learned from the Dursleys, it was the advantage of a tactical submission to someone proven stronger than him. He didn't even have to think about it anymore. He might be able to do things because of his freakish nature, but everyone was stronger than him. Facing an enemy from the front was never going to work out for him.

He was, after all, a creature that belonged to the shadows, whose survival depended upon his ability to make no noise to remind people that he existed at all.

So when the man had insisted that Harry go with him over Uncle Vernon's bluster and Aunt Petunia's vitriol, Harry hadn't argued. It was not a hardship, even. The feast of sausage and cake had been greater than anything the Dursleys had allowed him outside of a visit from Aunt Marge. The giant of a man didn't seem likely to aim his considerable temper in Harry's direction, even when Harry had dared to ask questions. Hagrid had even asked _Harry's_ permission to break what seemed to be arbitrary rules concerning the use of magic, as if he had the authority to deny him anything that he wanted.

As their trip continued, Harry gathered that the rules applied only to Hagrid, even if they continued to not make sense. What prevented Hagrid from simply attaining another wand to practice magic? Clearly nothing prevented him from cast what spells he could with the hidden halves of his broken wand. Perhaps the thought had simply never occurred to the man. Even outside of Hagrid's difficulties with reading, he didn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed, often regurgitating things that _everyone knew_ as if that had any bearing on their truth. That was particularly true if it had been something that Albus Dumbledore had said. Harry didn't try to point that out, letting the lesson from Uncle Vernon's insulting of the esteemed headmaster silence his tongue rather than risk setting off Hagrid again.

Harry was good at making no noise and pretending that he didn't exist; he was good at staying in the shadows until forced out into the light. Such a pity he could never master actually being good.

The crowd of the pub Hagrid took them to was thrilled to see Harry. They queued to shake his hand or touch his sleeve, as if he was not just a celebrity but some kind of deific figure whose mere presence was enough to cure any ill. The attention was uncomfortable but with Hagrid's bulk behind him, Harry couldn't escape it without revealing the freakishness he had practiced during Dudley's Harry Hunting game.

A woman appeared before him, her toothy smile standing out against her dark skin. Instead of shaking his hand, she grasped his forearm in a way that brought her own against his palm. The little knife he kept strapped near his wrist hit against something similar against her wrist. Startled, he met her eyes, reading only silent recognition there, not the condemnation he had been taught to expect whenever someone stumbled across a sign of his freakishly violent habits. She left without saying a word, disappearing into the shadows as Harry wished to do but couldn't.

The strange encounter stuck in Harry's mind as Hagrid handled their business with the bank. Realizing that Hagrid did not intend to give Harry the key to his own vault, Harry slipped it from the giant's pocket before he had been left at the seamstress' shop. Harry wouldn't have minded returning to the pub with Hagrid, given that by that time, it had been several hours since the early morning slice of cake, but he had gone longer without food after having eaten less. Besides, it was probably best that he was not being escorted for this part, given the things Harry kept stashed on him.

Harry was being ushered onto one of the stools when the door opened again. He turned, the hairs on the back of his neck raising in the way that usually meant Aunt Petunia was either swinging something at him or had thrown something. The woman from the Leaky Cauldron was slipping into the robe shop like a silent shadow. She raised a finger to her lips in the universal signal for silence. Harry blinked at her slowly before accepting the nonverbal order.

The shop assistant kept on gathering what tools she needed to measure Harry for his uniform. On the other stool stood another boy around Harry's age. Neither seemed to have noticed the newcomer, as if she had managed to perfect Aunt Petunia's order to make no noise and pretend to not exist. Harry was impressed despite the apathy that had filled him for years.

The next second both the assistant and the blond boy were crumpling to the ground. Small knives, each no bigger than Harry's rather tiny index finger, protruded from their left eyes. Harry blinked again, processing that he was now staring at a pair of bodies. He bent over the assistant to pull the knife loose. He turned it a few times to admire the craftsmanship before looking back at the assassin.

"Your blood is not your own," she told him. It seemed a strange thing to say, but the words echoed in the empty space where Harry should have had a heart. He felt the depth of the truth they held, the weight of the burden they carried. Like the blood that flowed through him, the words moved through him with every pounding beat of his heart. He nodded in agreement. "Will you come with me, little one?"

"Not today," Harry said after a moment's consideration. He should have been afraid, but then, fear had died years ago for him, along with everything else. It had been starved to death along with hope of the Dursleys ever caring for him like an actual family member. Knowledge could be terrible even as it was freeing. "There would be too many questions if I left this way."

She moved across the room with the deadly grace of a hawk spiraling through the summer sky. Cupping his chin, she shifted his gaze from the dagger to her. Her thumb idly stroked his cheek, gentle and tender as if she had not just killed two people for reasons that remained unspoken. His eyes slid shut as he basted in the warmth of the gesture.

"Remember, little one," she whispered, "while others blindly follow the truth, _nothing is true_." He opened his eyes to meet hers. She laid a kiss on his forehead, breathing her next words over the odd scar there. She released his chin to wrap a cord of some sort around his neck, tucking a pendant under the neckline of his shirt. "While others are limited by morality or law, remember _everything is permitted_." She stepped away while continuing to face him. Her eyes glinted a golden whiskey color in the natural dimness of the shop. "We work in the shadows to serve the light."

Like a shadow, the assassin slipped out the door. Harry was left alone with the bodies leaking blood like water from cracked pitchers. He touched the pendant through his shirt. For the first time he could remember, he didn't feel as if he was completely alone in the world.

His blood was not his own, and it was even better than learning about magic.

Harry would remember this forever.


	4. So Many Pasties

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Interesting tidbit of information that is apparently less common than I expected: pasties are the little decorative nipple covers that are common among both burlesque dancers and strippers. In possibly related news, I am not responsible for any therapy you may need after reading this fic. I just figured that if I had to have this image in my head, that it was only right that I share.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Advice from the Mug; In a Flash; Gryffindor MC (x2)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Game Development (Task #11: Write about someone who feels like they have no control over something.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Auction [21.4] Pumpkin Pasties; Insane Prompt Challenge [915] (Dramatic); Constellation Club [Columba] (Wezn – Wine [drink]); Scavenger Hunt [84] (Write a comedy genre fic.); Gym (Secrets)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 5A (Rainbow)  
**Representation(s):** Harry Potter; Hermione Granger; Kreacher  
**Bonus Challenges: **Sneeze Weasel; Found Family; Nontraditional; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail)  
**Word Count:** 728

(^^)  
**So Many Pasties**  
(^^)

Harry stood frozen in the doorway to the kitchen in Grimmauld Place. He wanted to turn away, to flee the scene before him. Yet it was a bit like an auto accident: horrifying but transfixing. He couldn't look away, no matter how much he might wish to do so.

Kreacher kept on dancing around the room, seemingly ignorant of his audience. He had a hand towel embossed with the Black crest wrapped around his bony hips like a loin cloth. That left his gaunt chest bare except for the pumpkin orange pasties over his nipples. They spun in hypnotic circles as the ancient elf moved like a burlesque dancer on the heavy oak table where the Order had once gathered to eat as well as discuss the machinations of the war.

Harry choked on the memory of having eaten there.

How long as Kreacher had this secret habit of occupying his time while the smell of baking pasties filled the air? How many times had he eaten what the elf had cooked without knowing this private moment had happened while innocent baked goods were being made? Did Kreacher wear the pasties all the time or only while baking? Did he only have the orange ones, or did he have other colors that he could swap out as he changed what he was baking? Did Kreacher have an entire rainbow worth of pasties?

After all, there was no mistaking the scent of pumpkin pasties filling the kitchen currently. The scent matched the distinctive shade of orange that the pasties Kreacher was wearing were. The fringe of them continued spinning in time with the elf's movements, just like how Harry's thoughts kept circling the same idea. He just couldn't break the cycle he had been captured by.

_How often did this happen? How often? __**How often?**_

Harry finally managed to yank himself away from the door. He stumbled back up the stairs like he had the one time that he had drunk an entire bottle of wine by himself. Oh, god, and he had eaten several pumpkin pasties then, too. Had Kreacher danced while they had baked as well?

He tossed far more Floo powder into the fireplace than necessary for a simple call. Thankfully, Hermione was seated before her fireplace when he stuck his head into the emerald flames. She immediately tossed aside her book, not even taking time to mark her place.

"Harry, what's happened?"

"I need you to obliviate me."

"Oh, no," she exclaimed. "Why do you need me to do such a thing?"

"I went downstairs while Kreacher was baking—"

"Oh, not again!"

"What do you mean 'not again'?" he demanded weakly. Hermione rolled her eyes, already reaching for her book. "What do you mean?!"

"I'm not doing it this time, Harry. You keep ignoring your written reminder to stay out of the kitchen while Kreacher is cooking. You can very well keep the memories this time." She stuck her nose back in the book. "And before you ask, there's a reason that Ron and I no longer eat anything he cooks. You have thoroughly scarred the both of us with your tales of Kreacher's, um, _private ritual_. I certainly do not wish to hear even a syllable more."

"This has happened before," Harry squeaked, his mind breaking a little bit more under the strain. Hermione hummed, ignoring his mental breakdown. "_I've caught Kreacher in pasties baking pasties before!"_

"Another word about it," Hermione warned absently as she turned a page, "and I will have my canaries chasing you after I transfigure all your nose hairs into flowers. Good luck getting the cadets to take you seriously while attracting butterflies!"

"But _Hermione_," Harry argued, only to stop when her wand made an appearance in her hand. She tapped it against the hard cover of her book as if she had forgotten about it entirely. He grumbled under his breath about her lack of helpfulness.

"Will that be all, Mr. Potter?" she asked pointedly. Harry sighed, realizing that he had no choice in the matter.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," he answered dutifully, accepting the dismissal. Harry sat back on his heels only to startle badly as Kreacher (fully covered, thankfully) popped in beside him. The house elf held a tray with a glass of pale wine and still steaming pumpkin pasties. Harry didn't fight the darkness that had him fainting dead away at the very sight.


	5. Enthralling Fascination

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So I stumbled across the concept of _none of the Founders being originally British_ (or at least, not being _white_). It heavily influenced this piece.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** In a Flash (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Ethnic & Present  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Mundane Literature (Task #2: Write about someone who loves someone unconditionally.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Auction [17.1] (Enthralled [Emotion]); Insane Prompt Challenge [342](Shouting); Scavenger Hunt [67] (Write a Founders Era fic.); Constellation [Pisces] Kullat Nunu (Salazar Slytherin); Gym (Kissing)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 2E (Ribbon/Cord)  
**Representation(s):** The Hogwarts Founders; Helga Hufflepuff/Salazar Slytherin  
**Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 757

(^^)  
**Enthralling Fascination**  
(^^)

Salazar traced the fluid line of Helga as she moved through the battlefield, despite the potential danger to himself in allowing himself to be so distracted. By the gods, who could blame him? Helga was a thing of beauty in her vicious efficiency. Like him, she used both wand and knife, one in each hand, as she fought. At some point, she had lost her helm, though the dark gold coils of her braids remained undisturbed.

The thick ribbon tied around her neck glinted despite its dark color. The black cloth had been embroidered with white badgers and yellow sigils. It served her well as any gorget, perhaps even better than a mundane version because of the magic it carried within its stitches. The ribbon moved like a second skin as she paused for just a moment to pant for breath before launching back into the frenzy.

The battle raged around them, forcing Salazar to turn away from the enthralling sight of Helga in a full battle rage. He could have gladly watched her take down her enemies. She was beauty and grace and snarling fury from the top of her gilded head to the soles of her black boots. Helga was the very epitome of her animal form, even while physically human. The thin layer of sweat over the dark tan of her skin made it glint like the gold that reminded him to treasure her always lest he find himself facing down her fangs.

Salazar lost track of her, lost track of everything outside the endless rhythm of battle. It was much like the way that Helga could so effortless captivate him or how he could so easily get lost in the wonders of nature. Outside the battlefield, Helga had her potions and tinctures, but it was Salazar who all things plants and stones, eagerly gathering the precious treasures of the only thing he loved more than Helga herself. He loved nature in all its spectacular splendor, just as he loved his fierce warrior of a bondmate.

"Have you seen Helga lately?" Godric called over the clash of his sword against the shield of his opponent. The man flashed a toothy grin at Salazar, the thick twists of his hair stained crimson with ocre and still looking like a lion's mane around his dark face. "I want to compare counts with the little mother!"

"Don't let her hear you call her that," Salazar warned even knowing it was pointless. Godric never worried over Helga's reaction to the endearments he bestowed upon her any more than he reined in his competitive nature. Helga indulged comparing their kill counts, something that neither Salazar nor Rowena bothered keeping track of. She did not indulge Godric referencing her off-field habit of taking care of them all as if it were something shameful.

"You will enjoy seeing her fierceness under less dire circumstances," Godric countered with a booming laugh. "It will be my gift to both of you, my friend! May you seed many crops in her lovely fields!"

"Godric!"

"Salazar," Godric returned jovially, not concerned with the embarrassment helping flush Salazar's cheeks along with the exertion of battle. "You have fine taste. The little mother is a mate to be proud of!"

"Don't call me that, pussy-cat," Helga interrupted, arriving between them. She grabbed ahold of Salazar's breastplate to yank him into a quick kiss, trusting Godric to have their back even as she argued with him. Breaking off the kiss, she barked out, "twenty-six confirmed kills; another eighteen incapacitated at the very least."

"I need to double my efforts," Godric announced, "if I shall even have a hope to be as fierce a warrior as you! Truly you are a credit to your badger spirit, Helga!"

Helga gave Salazar another kiss, more passionate than the last before leaving the two men for the furious battle around them. Salazar shook his head to clear the clouds clinging to his mind in the wake of Helga's ill-time affection. She enthralled him even after she had left the reach of his senses. He could easily become lost in her, forgetting that they were surrounded by an enemy army.

"Return to the present, my friend," Godric commanded with a slap to Salazar's shoulder. "Now is not the time to become drunk on passion, no matter how lovely Helga is!"

"Oh, stab something already," Salazar grumbled, making Godric laugh again before returning to the battle at hand. "Maybe stab me."

"Nay, my friend. I would never survive your lady!"

_Well, he's not wrong._


	6. Love Will Keep Us Together

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I love the entire concept of Lily Lives AU that develops into a Celestial Petals ship raising an autistic Harry.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A (FPC; BAON; Shipping War; Star; Fence; T3)  
**Individual Challenges:** Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Lovely Triangle; Gryffindor MC (x3); In a Flash; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Tiny Terror  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Mundane Literature (Task #4: Write about growth.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Auction [13.1] ("Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captin & Tennille); Insane Prompt Challenge [658] (Unknown); Scavenger Hunt [58] (Write a pairing/ship that has less than 100 fics on FFN.); Gym (Sharing a Bed); Pinata [Easy] (Sharing a Bed)  
**Representation(s):** placeholder  
**Bonus Challenges: **Nontraditional; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress); Chorus (Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Tether)  
**Word Count:** 615

(^^)  
**Love Will Keep Us Together**  
(^^)

After James had died and Voldemort had gotten trapped in Lily's trap, it had been natural for Lily and Harry to move in with Remus and Sirius. It hadn't been planned, but even if those first few weeks had seen Lily's Unspeakable friends traipsing all over the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow, no one was going to blame Lily from not being able to walk past where the body of her husband had lain. Regardless of whatever else the Marauders were, they were a family, and family meant taking care of each other.

Having two more people in their space took some adjustments, especially for Sirius who was used to ambushing Remus whenever he felt like he was getting enough attention. Fortunately, Lily was used to walking into a room to find Sirius in various states of undress. Merlin and God both knew that she had done it enough while she and James had been dating, and even before, as they had struggled occasionally on successfully getting their clothes to transfigure with their bodies. Remus ought to be upset that Lily was one of the few women who knew what his mate's junk looked like, but that felt as natural as anything else in their lives.

Some days were harder than others, even if having a small child didn't give them the option of just giving up on life. Between the three of them, they managed to make it all work. For all the other issues that came in the Harry-shaped package, the boy was a good kid, eager to please and easy to be pleased. He kept them on their collective toes, to be sure, as he was precocious, and sometimes his unique needs created difficulties that they hadn't anticipated.

Remus' lycanthropy gave him an edge in predicting potential sensory issues; Sirius was good at memorizing whatever new ritual Harry created. Lily had been worried about being left behind but once Harry started school, it had been Lily who knew how to explain social cues and how to communicate ideas when necessary. Remus' instincts and Sirius' _everything_ had given them both skewed views of the world. For all that Lily had also been a child genius, she had the most normal childhood of all of them. Her training at lecturing on her research helped as well, especially as Harry's autistic diagnosis had caused said research to become focused on things that would make life easier for other autistic wix around the world.

Love was as natural as breathing for all of them, and moments like this, when they had all piled together into one bed, made everything that had happened just a little bit worth it. Remus buried his nose in the short hair on the back of Sirius' neck, breathing in the sleepy scent of his mate. In turn, Sirius snuffled into the curls atop of Harry's head. The eight-year-old was laying half over Sirius with his thin legs draped over Lily's stomach. The sprawl took up more of the bed than should have been possible but that all children and cats were capable of achieving without any extraordinary effort being made.

They still had a couple of holes in their family. Nothing may ever be able to fill the Peter and James shaped holes in their lives, and such a thing shouldn't be possible. But they had grown so much since that point that the holes no longer ached like they once had.

They were a family, a pack, and that what was important at the end of the day.

Love kept them going when they might have otherwise given up.

Love would continue keeping together, because that was what it did.


	7. Time is Not a Division

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So…_time travel_ is a perfectly valid solution to all the icky cross-generation shipping needs, right?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC (x2); The 3rd Rule; Short Jog  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 8  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Auction [22.4] Lily Evans Potter/Hermione Granger; Pinata [Medium] Soulmate AU; Gym (Situps – "Is this seat taken?"); Insane Prompt Challenge [29] (Hijinks); Scavenger Hunt [98] (Write a slash/femslash fic.)  
**Representation(s):** Lily Evans Potter; Hermione Granger  
**Bonus Challenges: **Nontraditional; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 953

(^^)  
**Time Is Not a Division**  
(^^)

"Is this seat taken?" The speaker accepted Lily's headshake as answer enough before pulling out the chair and settling in it. She stretched out her right hand earnestly afterward. "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me, Mrs. Potter.

Lily Potter shook the hand offered as she assessed the well-dressed woman. This woman appeared every inch a stylish barrister just a few years older than herself. She was clearly a witch, though only someone in the know about the magical world would be able to tell the tiny clues such the tell-tale bump of a wand along her left arm or the slightly longer cut of her prim suit coat that marked the extra length that could be transfigured into robes. The smile that Lily was receiving was welcoming in a way that was rare these days when one never knew who was on the other side of the war (or worse: who was determined to remain neutral during it).

"You made an intriguing case, Miss Granger," Lily offered after the silence had lasted a moment longer than what was comfortable. And really, that was the reason that she was here, meeting with a perfect stranger who had rung her not an hour ago. Few people knew about the Order of the Phoenix, let alone knew that she and her husband were a part of it. Anyone who knew this information deserved at least a meeting. Not that Lily was going to risk Harry by bringing him. The woman's smile just grew warmer as they took seats on either side of the small café table.

"I've had a long time to work on my pitch, Mrs. Potter," she admitted, "and please call me Hermione."

"Alright, Hermione, why did you want to see me?"

"Straight to the point then," Hermione said easily without any rancor. She pulled a thin portfolio case onto the table. With expert ease, the woman pulled out a small stack of parchment and set them in front of Lily. "The paperwork before you contains the copyright information for the Potter Legacy program, as well as a few other points of interest. You probably have never heard of the program before, but let me assure you that this program ends up helping a lot of people."

"What does this mysterious program do?" Lily asked instead of admitting that she had not heard so something that bore her husband's surname. As protective of their names as the purebloods tended to be, it was entirely possible that Lily had simply not been brought into the secret. Dorea _hated_ her far more than Charlus and James knew. The other possibility was that this was a pitch for a new organization and Hermione was simply just portraying confidence to get her to agree.

The soulmark on her forearm twitched, as it tended to do. Soulmarks tended to be unstable without bonds to anchor. When the testing came back that Lily's soulmate didn't exist, she had been determined to not let that stop her from living her life. She loved James, just as much as he loved her. They were comfortable with each other, equally aware that they weren't the fairy tale that people outside their friends thought they were. If James had been the same toerag he had been during their early years at Hogwarts, Lily would have never considered their marriage of convenience, but he had grown a lot after she had confronted him in their fifth year, even if he was still prone to hijinks if he got too bored. Besides, having Harry made it all worth it in the end.

"It helps provide the means for soulmates to find each other," Hermione supplied. Her voice sounded like she was being extra careful about something. "Even if testing had previously shown empty marks, we—the Program—can expand the parameters of the search to include all of time and space. Then it just a simple matter of delegating an agent to unite the soulmates."

"Sounds like something out of _Doctor Who_," Lily admitted, earning a nervous smile from her visitor. "Did come in a TARDIS, then? Should I expect Daleks or Cybermen to be attacking soon?"

"Nothing like that," Hermione said. Her eyes searched over Lily's face like she was trying to memorize it. It was oddly familiar, thought Lily couldn't quite place it. "Who would dare to attack _you_, after all? I mean, you're Lily Evans-Potter!"

"You make it sound like I'm the Doctor. That really doesn't help your cause, Hermione."

"It doesn't, does it?" Hermione said with a laugh. It tinkled like a brook. Lily felt herself relaxing. "It's just that where I'm from, you're famous, much like the Doctor. You're the woman who defeated the Dark Lord, nearly single-handedly. You have no idea how thrilling it is to finally be meeting you."

"I suppose that I don't," Lily agreed. Her soulmark twitched again, leaving a demanding ache behind. Lily dropped her hands to her lap to subtly rub at it. "Finally?"

"Oh, yes, I've been training for this trip for over three years," Hermione explained. "It was decided that I was the best candidate for the initial trip."

"Why?" Lily questioned softly. Hermione's face softened, growing wistful. "Why would you be best?"

"Because you're my soulmate," Hermione answered, as if it said everything that needed to be said.

Lily's mark twitched again, as if shouting its agreement with Hermione's declaration. That more than anything settled the questions swirling through her mind. Hermione had to be what she was claiming to be, which meant that the rest of the outrageous tale had to be true as well.

James was going to laugh his ass off when she told him.


	8. On the Outside, Looking In

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Harry has always been an outsider at Privet Drive.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC; In a Flash; Advice from the Mug  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 9  
**Subject (Task No.):** Wandlore (Task #6: Write about an outsider.)  
**Representation(s):** Child Abuse; Harry Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Nontraditional; Peddling Pots  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (n/a); SN (Rail; Spare)  
**Word Count:** 579

(^^)  
**On the Outside, Looking In**  
(^^)

Harry Potter was not having a good day. To be truthful, it was not a good summer. There were good things about it. His family didn't know that he couldn't do magic outside of school, so they were not as bad as they had been in the past. This meant that while Harry had just as many chores as before, he also had at least something to eat every day, even if it was just a cheese sandwich.

Normally, this would have been a great improvement on Harry's life, but Harry had become accustomed to the food at his school and its variety. He had also gotten used to having his friends around him. They had promised to write Harry, but it was three weeks into summer vacation now and still not a single letter from any of them. He didn't blame any of them, but it was rather disappointing. He had really thought that they had liked him, especially Ron and Hermione.

Harry was lonely. Dudley was not much of a conversationalist, even if he was willing to talk instead of beating up Harry. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia preferred to pretend that Harry didn't exist unless it was to give him chores or punishments. Harry had no friends at Privet Drive from before he left for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dudley had made sure than any of the kids who showed Harry even a bit of kindness learned to leave him alone. Aunt Petunia took care of driving away any neighbors who showed any interest in him.

Harry sighed deeply as he yanked on yet another weed. This one was tangled among the brambles of Aunt Petunia's prized rose bush. It was also being stubborn, not wanting to release its hold on the soil. He yanked again, just as futilely as ever. He tried not to sigh again.

Life at Privet Drive had never been as bad as it was right now.

He wished that he had never gone to Hogwarts. If he had never gone to Hogwarts, he would not know how good life could be. He would never know what it felt like to be a part of something rather than being stuck on the outside looking in. True, he felt a little bit like that at Hogwarts as well, because of the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing giving people the idea that he was more, well, _everything_ than he really was, but he was still considered a part of the wizarding world. He was not considered part of the world that consisted of Privet Drive.

He understood now why Alice had preferred Wonderland and why Dorothy longed for Oz. There was something to be said about being a part of something, even if it didn't always make sense and was dangerous. After having experienced how wonderful life could be, who would really wish for mundanity? After experiencing what it was like to have friends, who would wish for isolation and loneliness?

Harry gave the weed another yank, overbalancing backwards when it came loose suddenly. Stars burst before his eyes when his head thumped against the ground. It took a moment to recognize that the growing pain in the center of his chest was due to him not breathing. He forced himself to take a breath, which burned all the way down but got his body to remember what it was supposed to do. He stared at the bright blue sky that stretched cloudless overhead.

God, he hated Privet Drive.


	9. Matches Made

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Additionally, there's a lot of internalized abuse in Harry's narrative. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Two autistic aces meet in a borrowed orchard.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Loneliness] (Y); Feeling So Logical [Happy]; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Letter of the Day; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes! (Y); Gryffindor MC; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Sett to Destroy; Summer Vacation; Seeds; Shipmas (Y); Interesting Times; Golden Times  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** Criminology (Task#5: ALT – Write about comparing things/people.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D01] (Matching Soulmate Marks) (Disability AU); Insane Prompt Challenge [534] ("I'm a Believer" – The Monkees); 365 [56] (Feather); Scavenger Hunt [93](Random Act of Kindness: Aya & Jet needed fluffiness.)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 1D (Sun)  
**Representation(s):** Luna Lovegood/Harry Potter; Autistic Aces in Love  
**Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Second Verse (Trickster's Union; Lovely Coconuts; Car in a Tutu; Zucchini Bread; Found Family; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Unicorn; Tomorrow's Shade; Mouth of Babes; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Terrarium); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Evolution; Satisfaction); O3 (Oath); HoSE (Schooner)  
**Word Count:** 912

(^^)  
**Matches Made**  
(^^)

Comparing soulmarks was a thing in the dorms, just like it had been on the playground of Brickman Primary in Little Whinging. Harry had never understood it. The marks weren't supposed to be shared. That was what all the adults said from the very first year of school. Not showing the mark around was taught right alongside not letting people touch the swimsuit areas of your body. Yet it was a thing that everyone had done for as long as Harry could remember, and he just didn't understand why.

Even when Dean and Seamus had exclaimed over their matching marks, while Ron turned a shade of red that made Harry long for the safety of his cupboard, Harry didn't understand why there seemed to be a compulsive need to show off the marks. It seemed so stupid that some invisible force out there cared about people finding the one person that was supposed to be perfect for them. Harry had had a lot of time to think about things like that, locked away in the dark of his cupboard between chores. Unfortunately, that was the only conclusion he could make: he did not understand.

Of course, there was a lot about the world that Harry didn't understand. He didn't understand everyone wanted to show off their soulmarks. He didn't understand why everyone insisted on staring at each other's faces or shaking hands. He didn't understand why he couldn't anything right or why Aunt Petunia hated him. He didn't understand why roses sounded like harps while the chamomile sounded like a flute. He didn't understand why the little snake in the garden talked but the birds just tweeted.

He didn't understand why he even had a soulmark when he was clearly defective. He wasn't smart. There were so many things that he didn't understand, when even Dudley (who struggled with counting) understood them. He didn't have the urge to chase the girls around for kisses, though he did like watching them in their pretty dresses from the side of the playground. He was a freak across the board, and the Dursleys were always quick to remind him of that, even if it seemed like the Weasleys hadn't figured it out yet.

Which was how Harry found himself at the far end of the Weasleys' orchard, building a series of sturdy tunnels instead of splashing with the Weasley children in their pond. He liked Ron and the twins. Even Percy wasn't that bad. But Ginny was weird with her staring and she kept asking if he had done all the things in the books. He didn't even know what books she was talking about! Aside from that, the Weasleys were very lively, and he was used to things being mostly quiet.

He was taking another rock from a garden gnome who was helping him build the tunnels that would replace their homes in the Weasley garden when a voice made the little creature scurry back into the hole.

"What are you doing?"

Harry spun around so fast that he overbalanced and fell onto his side. From that position, the girl appeared to be looming over him. Instinctively, he raised his arms and crossed them in front of his face. In his panic, he had forgotten that he had pushed up the sleeves of his shirt while working. His soulmark, a feathery snake that wrapped around his left forearm, was completely exposed.

"Oh," the girl said. Her tone had that same flat quality that Harry's got if he didn't focus on making sure it sounded like it should. Harry peeked out between his arms to see her staring at his soulmark. "You have my mark. It's a Quetzalcoatl, named after the Nahauatl deity of the same appearance. Quetzalcoatl was a teacher and had power over wind and water just as their twin had power over lightning and death. Daddy took me to Central America this spring to see the temples, just so that I could tell my soulmate everything about our mark. I'm Luna Lovegood."

Some time during her spiel, Harry had lowered his arms to stare at her. Her gray eyes seemed to have difficulty focusing on anything, flicking between targets like his did if he was distracted. As she announced her name, she stuck her hand straight out, despite him still laying on the ground. He blinked several times as he tried to process what he was seeing. It seemed like…it seemed like _she was like him_ and didn't understand the silent rules that everyone else seemed to just know. He felt like he had been hit by Aunt Petunia's frying pan again.

"I'm Harry," he blurted out, dazed. He pushed himself to his feet and awkwardly shook the hand she still had out. She smiled so wide and beautiful that he felt like he was staring at the sun. He liked it. No wonder Dean and Seamus spent all their time together. "Tell me more."

"About Quetzalcoatl?" Luna sounded unsure, hesitant for the first time. Her smile started to fade a bit around the edges. It made Harry want to bite whoever made her sad, like there was an angry monster in his chest that existed only to make sure that Luna was always as happy as could be.

"About everything," Harry declared, not caring if he couldn't understand it all because those words made Luna's smile return to full force as she began to talk about anything that came to her.


	10. Bindings

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Sexual situation with fade to black after things start to need more details. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Blaise finds his soulmate in an unusual situation, but that's okay.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; What Work?; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery; Creature People; Summer Vacation; Seeds; Shipmas; Times to Come (Y); Time Gaps (Y); Location, Location, Location; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Surprise] (Y); Feeling So Logical [Vegetable]; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Letter of the Day; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes! (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** Geography (Task#1: Write a fic with the setting of a Hogwarts Greenhouse.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [Day 02] (Red String of Fate) (Ethereal); Insane Prompt Challenge [189] (Surprise); 365 [78] (Perfume); Scavenger Hunt [56] (Write something for a Slytherin – Amber); Galleon Club (Blaise Zabini)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **5E (Gold)**  
Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter; Relaxing in the Greenhouse  
**Bonus Challenges: **Most Human Bean; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; For the Vine; Lock & Key; Car in a Tutu; Spinning Plates; Persistence Still); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Creature Feature; Unicorn; Larger than Life; Tomorrow's Shade; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Schooner); TY (Ntaiv); O3 (Olivine); FR (Evolution); CM (Brier); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); T3 (Terse; Terrarium)  
**Word Count:** 734

(^^)  
**Bindings**  
(^^)

Blaise had waited for waited for the tugging of his string for years. He had wanted nothing more than to find where that thread led for as long as he could remember. He didn't want the life that his mother had had, constantly burying spouses. The red string was supposed to be a promise from Magic herself that love would win out in the end, if one would just give it a chance. Most people didn't wait for it, didn't feel the need to do so at all. But Blaise wanted the promised partner who would be his true love.

Of course, teaching at Hogwarts didn't leave a lot of options for meeting new people, but it gave him something to do while he waited for the tugging that signified that it was time to meet his soulmate to happen. It wasn't glamorous, but he didn't need the spotlight shining on him. He actually preferred that it didn't. Too much attention always meant that someone would find out about his family's heritage, which always led to inevitable problems.

A least half of those problems would be solved if he found his mate, because unmated sirens were vulnerable to abuse, as they craved the person who could listen to their song without becoming swayed by it.

Yet, for all his waiting and wanting, Blaise was still surprised when his string started tugging one day as he was restocking the Hospital Wing's potion stores before the start of term. It had been shocking to discover when he had first started that despite having a potions master on hand, the Hogwarts Hospital Wing had always ordered their stock from outside the school. Apparently, Snape had had no desire to brew the medical potions used throughout the year by the residents of the castle. Madam Pomfrey had been thrilled when Blaise had suggested keeping her stocked when he had started.

She was even happier to shoo him off to follow the tugging.

Which was how he found himself staring at the door to Greenhouse 5, where the most dangerous plants were grown. Strangely, the door to the greenhouse was open, which was supposed to be impossible as it was spelled to close automatically to prevent any of the plants from escaping (a bigger risk than students getting hurt by wandering in unprepared). The fragrant perfume of the Blood Sipper Lilies wafted out as sweetly tempting as any peach or plum in the late summer dusk. It drew him in as surely as the string tugging on his hand and his own curiosity did.

Cautious now, Blaise approached the door to look in, only to feel numb from what he was witnessing. The Devil's Snare had a man wrapped in its vines, but far from appearing murderous, it appeared amorous. The path beneath where it had him suspended was littered with discarded and torn clothes. The vines were doing something that caused the man to shake his head in pleasure as he attempted to writhe against his restraints. The man's dark braid was long enough to skim the ground with every motion.

As many times as he had entranced people with his voice, Blaise had never felt that way himself, not until this moment as his string tugged insistently on his fingers. In the dimness of the greenhouse, the man looked ethereal, like he was nothing more than a wood nymph that had slipped out of the Forbidden Forest just for this rendezvous. Blaise drifted into the greenhouse, not paying any mind to how the door sealed shut behind him as he crossed the threshold. The man's symphony of erotic gasps and moans covered the soft charm of the wards raising over the ancient building. Not that Blaise would have cared anyway.

His blood was already singing as the vines began tugging at his light-weight summer robe, knowing that his mate was here. As Blaise felt himself raise into the air, the man opened his eyes, which were as richly green as the foliage around them. A current passed between as their eyes met. For an endless moment, Blaise waited to be rejected or to see the too-familiar gleam of greed in those hauntingly familiar eyes.

Then Harry took Blaise's right hand in his left and tugged him closer.

Unnoticed by the two pending lovers, the red string that connected them turned to the gold of a permanent bond.


	11. Unnoticed Until Shown

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I'm using the Desi Potters headcanon, and this time, it's actually plot-relevant. Unfortunately for Ginny's hopes, Harry's official name is _not_ Harry, and she just inspired him right out of her reach.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x4); Slytherin MC (x3); Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Shipmas (Y); Golden Times; More than England (Y); Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Ethnic & Present (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Neurodivergent; Quiet Time (Y); Letter of the Day (Y); Flags & Ribbons (Y) Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Risk] (Y); Old Shoes; Two Cakes! (Y); Feeling So Logical [Sensible]  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** Alchemy (Task#2: Write about someone inspiring others.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D03] (Soulmates Name on Body) (Sensible); Insane Prompt Challenge [162] (Discovery); 365 [160] (Exhausted); Scavenger Hunt [89] (Write a fic that is exactly 2019 words); Galleon Club (hesitate)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **2C (Growth)**  
Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter; Autistic Harry Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Most Human Bean; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; For the Vine; Car in a Tutu; Brooms Only; Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates; Middle Name; Zucchini Bread; Nontraditional; Found Family; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Creature Feature; Unicorn; Larger than Life; A Long Dog; Tomorrow's Shade; Mouth of Babes; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** O3 (Orator; Oath); FR (Evolution; Satisfaction); HoSE (Schooner); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); T3 (Thimble)  
**Word Count:** 2019

(^^)  
**Unnoticed Until Shown**  
(^^)

Harry tried not to make it obvious that he was watching Dean and Seamus cuddling on the sofa nearby. He really should have been studying the book that lay open on his lap. No matter how many times he reminded himself that Sprout had promised a quiz tomorrow, he found his gaze drifting back to the newly matched pair of soulmates. Every time he realized that he was looking again, he rushed to drop his eyes again, hoping and praying that no one had noticed him looking.

Dean and Seamus looked happy together, almost giddy to have discovered that their best friend was also their soulmate. The idea made something twist in Harry's chest. It almost felt the same way that his stomach did when he hadn't earned any meals for a few days and all he could think about was how hungry he was. Harry tried to shrink into his armchair at the comparison. It wasn't that he wanted Ron or Hermione to like him like Dean and Seamus liked each other.

They just looked comfortable, leaning against each other like they were at the moment. Even when Seamus would drape himself over Dean like he was a cat, Dean never looked like Seamus was too much to handle or being too needy. Harry blinked away the prickling in his eyes and took a deep breath to steady the hitch he had been developing there. They just looked _happy_, is all, and maybe Harry wanted the same kind of thing for himself.

He thought of the name curled around his ankle in delicate Norse runes. It was covered by his graying socks, just like Aunt Petunia had trained him to keep it. Even if she couldn't read what the name was, Aunt Petunia had been clear that they would hate being saddled with Harry as a soulmate. If she had known that the runes spelled _Blaise_, her venom would likely have been even stronger. The Dursleys had never hidden how they felt about soulmates who were the same sex, after all.

Besides, the only Blaise that Harry knew was that Slytherin who was sorted with him, and all the Slytherins hated him because Malfoy did.

Harry sighed, suddenly feeling every sleepless night he had had so far that term. If it wasn't Umbridge keeping him in detention until after midnight, it was staying up late trying to make headway on the growing mountain of homework he had. Then he would wake up early from nightmares and not be able to go back to sleep no mater how exhausted he was. It was doing wonders for his emotional stability, something that people were already questioning thanks to _The Daily Prophet_'s smear campaign.

His gaze drifted towards the cuddling soulmates. He knew it wasn't sensible, but he wanted that for himself. He wanted someone who would look at him with the kind of honest adoration that Dean and Seamus looked at each other with. He wanted someone who love him, despite Harry not being good at anything other than Quidditch and somehow managing not to die. He wanted someone who wouldn't mind him leaning against their side while they were doing homework. He wanted his soulmate.

He just wasn't enough of a Gryffindor to risk it, not when he knew that it wouldn't matter anyway. All it would do was make the other Gryffindors mad at him and give the Slytherins ammunition to use against him. It wouldn't make Blaise—if he was even _the right_ Blaise—care about him or want anything to do with him. It just wasn't worth the risk.

"You could probably get Colin to take a picture for you," Ginny said in his ear. Harry jumped, knocking his head against hers. She straightened from her bend over the back of the armchair to rub the bump. "Ow. I thought you had noticed me coming down the stairs. Apparently, you were really into watching Dean and Seamus snog each other."

"What? No—they're not—" But when Harry turned back to look at the pair, they weren't just cuddling anymore. They were heavily making out. It even looked like Seamus might have his hand down the front of Dean's pants. Harry felt his face heat up with a mixture of embarrassment and secondhand lust. He swallowed hard enough to leave his throat aching, suddenly thankful that his darker complexion helped hide when he blushed unlike Ginny and Ron who showed even the lightest blush. "I guess they are."

"Do they inspire you to do anything other than stare?" she asked, proving his previous thought about skin as she turned pink. "You want someone to snog of your very own?"

"I, um, what are you talking about?" Harry said, stumbling over the words worse than his attempt to ask Cho to the Yule Ball last year. He clutched at the edges of his book and tried not to panic. Ginny was too close to the truth of his thoughts for his comfort. She smiled knowingly as she slid around to sit on the arm of his chair.

"I bet you anything that your soulmate is just waiting for you to ask," Ginny said in a conspiring tone. She leaned towards him so that her breath fanned over his cheek as she continued. "I bet you wouldn't even have to ask. I bet your soulmate would love it if you just grabbed them and laid one on them, regardless of who was watching."

Harry risked a glance around the room. Seamus was standing now, both hands reaching to help Dean up from the couch. No doubt that they would disappear up to the dorm until time for dinner. They would come down freshly showered and with no sign of having done anything that would have warranted bathing in the middle of the day. Everyone would politely ignore it, just like the rest of the fifth-year boys had taken to ignoring how the pair rarely slept alone anymore.

Harry wondered what it was like to not sleep alone, to have someone who didn't think that was weird or babyish. Maybe Ginny was right. Maybe Blaise was just waiting for him to make the first move. He licked his lips as he looked back at Ginny, who suddenly seemed closer than she had been.

"Do you really think that?" he asked. Ginny's brown eyes were wide and earnest as she nodded very solemnly. Her lips twitched into a weird pucker-like thing before she visibly forced herself to smile encouragingly.

Harry closed his book as he got up. Nervously, he wiped his palms on the sides of his trousers. Maybe it really wasn't as big a deal as Harry was building it up in his head as. He didn't tend to hesitate about anything else in his life. Why start now?

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said. "You're a good friend. You've really inspired me."

He was already turning towards the common room door as her expression changed from expectant to confused. He marched his way out of the room, certain if he stopped for longer than a moment, he would lose all the courage that Ginny had just gave him. Fortunately, the stairs decided to cooperate and stayed in place. Unfortunately, that meant that he arrived at the doors to the Great Hall in next to no time.

Even though it was at least a full hour before dinner began being served, there was a lot of people in the Great Hall. The empty tables made good places to spread out study materials, especially for groups. People were also allowed to talk at a volume greater than a whisper, unlike in the library. Even Umbridge's Educational Decrees couldn't overcome such a basic need in the student body.

This far into November, the majority of the Slytherins were present. (And who could blame them? The dungeons got cold quick once September was over.) Harry could easily pick out the Slytherin he was looking for in particular. Blaise Zabini was even darker than Dean was, almost a true black opposed to just dark brown. Which had always made Harry curious about how his eyes were such a bright violet, until he had read about the different ways that magic tended to leave a visible marker in witches and wizards. Unlike Dean (who kept his hair very short), Blaise kept his hair in long braids, each one no bigger than a piece of twine. Harry had no clue that hair could be braided that small.

As always, Blaise was bracketed on either side by the same pair of witches. The brunette on his right was Tracey Davis, and she was currently explaining something with the way her hands kept moving as she spoke. On Blaise's other side, Daphne Greengrass sat like a queen listening to a page report. Every so often, her icy blue eyes would check their surroundings. Harry froze like a rabbit when that gaze landed on him. He felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest when she nudged Blaise and nodded in his direction.

Ginny would hex him if Harry wasted her pep talk by backing out now.

That thought seemed to inspire his feet to finally unstick from ground. Harry still couldn't seem to remember how to breathe as he approached the trio. He was certain that he was going to pass out or self-combust like a phoenix when Blaise stood as he got close. Greengrass stood as well, standing with her wand ready at Blaise's left. Harry tried to not let the show of prepared force influence his intentions, because it was understandable that they would be nervous about his presence after the brawl at the Slytherin versus Gryffindor game a fortnight ago.

"Do you need something, Potter?" Greengrass asked in clear expectation of being answered.

Harry flicked his gaze to her before returning to looking at Blaise's face as it comported itself through several tiny expressions that Harry was having even more trouble deciphering than he normally did with people's expressions. He swallowed around the lump in his throat. Then he opened his mouth to speak only to close it when nothing came out. His eyes slid shut as the horrified embarrassment washed over him. What a time for that old issue to flare up!

"Cat's got your tongue, Potter?" Davis asked. Harry found himself blinking at the brunette, because for all that the words matched Dudley's favorite taunt, the tone was kind. He would even say they were sympathetic if he didn't know better. She tapped her nose. "It helps me to take three slow breaths before trying again. That doesn't always work, and I end up having to use my hands, but not everyone knows sign, so that might now work best for you."

"_Tracey_," Greengrass hissed only to get a sharp gesture from the other girl. Harry blinked at the interaction, not comprehending any of it. Blaise let out a long-suffering sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he lowered the hand and met Harry's eyes fully for the first time.

Any doubts that Harry had evaporated in an instant as he suddenly _knew_ he had the right Blaise. He could see the same knowledge growing on Blaise's face as well. Then as one, they moved towards each other. The kiss was everything that Harry had longed for and even more besides, because each brush of their skin sent energy tingling through Harry's body.

He could definitely understand why Dean and Seamus could barely drag themselves apart most of the time. He also definitely needed to thank Ginny for her pep talk. She really was a great friend.

"I should have realized," Blaise muttered against Harry's lips as if he couldn't bare to pull any farther away. That was another thing that Harry could definitely understand. "I should have realized that of course your father would have made sure that you had a proper Hindu name. All Potters do, regardless of Angelical names. Oh, Haridard, will you forgive me making you wait?"

Harry just kissed him again in answer.


	12. Dance, Dance, Revolution (Rated M)

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So, this fic is entirely about kill Snape in the way that would hurt his pride the most. If you like the man who joined magical Hitler because he didn't get the girl he felt entitled to, then maybe don't read this fic. If you like the guy who thought nothing of letting said allegorical Nazi bully around sixteen years worth of students, this is also not the fic for you. And for those of you wondering, yes, that is Leta Lestrange's mother at the end.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Slytherin MC; Gryffindor MC; Sett to Destroy (Y); More than England; Fall Leaves; Ways to the Heart; Interesting Times; Themes & Things A [Death]; Themes & Things B [Protection]; Short Jog (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Feeling So Logical [Joyful]  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** Photography (Task#1: Write about a death.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [25] (Killjoy); 365 [] (); Scavenger Hunt [66] (Write a fic about your least favorite character); Galleon Club ("I'm serious!")  
**Space Address (Prompt): **5D (Orange)**  
Representation(s):** Severus Snape; Albus Dumbledore; Unnamed Female House Elf  
**Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Most Human Bean; Rock of Ages; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; Surprise!; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Unwanted Advice; Persistence Still); Chorus (Creature Feature; Bandstand; A Long Dog; Tomorrow's Shade; Peddling Pots; Pear-Shaped; Odd Feathers)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** O3 (Orator; Oust); SN (Rail; Negate)  
**Word Count:** 1770

(^^)  
**Dance, Dance, Revolution**  
(^^)

Severus Snape had joined the Hogwarts staff the fall term after the war ended. It had taken that long because the evidence of his Death Eater activities kept bringing him before the Wizengamot. All through that first winter and spring, it had seemed that every Death Eater they had uncovered spouted his name, at least eventually. Every time, Albus Dumbledore would go before the Wizengamot to assure them that Snape had spied for him, and thus, should not be tried for what was quickly becoming a very long list of crimes. Even when it was revealed that Snape had been a part of Voldemort's innermost circle, one of his most trusted lieutenants, Albus Dumbledore was there to remind them that they had heard evidence that Snape was innocent and had a change of heart.

No one commented about how the evidence was nothing more than Albus Dumbledore saying that.

No one asked how long Snape had been spying for Albus Dumbledore or why that should negate any wrongdoing in the first place.

No one mentioned the Black heir who had been arrested for betraying the Potters, because Albus Dumbledore assured them that Sirius Black had been their Secret Keeper.

No one cared that a poor family found a hurt rat in their garden and decided to adopt the pitiful creature.

But as July bled into August, the Death Eater trials were finally wrapping up, and the survivors of the Blood War were beginning to get their lives back together. This included the retirement of Professor Horace Slughorn who after over fifty years of teaching and collecting the best and brightest of Britain's finest, decided to retire and enjoy the network he had created. Of course, this left a permanent position open on the Hogwarts staff (as no one has considered the chronically open Defense against the Dark Arts position permanent after no one managed to keep it longer than a year since the mid-fifties).

It took only a week into the new term for people, students and staff alike, to start wishing that the irascible young man had been hired for the Defense against the Dark Arts position instead. It took less than a month for the complaints to begin being filed with first with the other Heads of House (because Severus Snape had also taken over Slughorn's position as Head of Slytherin), and when that failed to yield any results other than making Snape even more irritated than normal, with the Deputy Headmistress. Unfortunately, Minerva McGonagall took the complaints directly to Dumbledore, who assured her that the complaints were just misunderstandings.

After all, Dumbledore trusted him with his life.

By the time October was drawing to a close, the staff was resigned to dealing with the unpleasantness of their new colleague. The younger students still had a bit of hope that someone would do something to curb the bullying they were receiving from a professor, but it was like the flame of a match as it approached the fingers of the person holding it. The older students, who still remember the sadistic boy who was now their new professor, didn't have even that much. None of the other professors had been inclined to stop Snape and his Death Eater friends then, and they weren't stopping him now that he had joined their ranks. Only the Marauders (fellow students and now long since graduated) had protected them.

The air of the Great Hall as the students filed in for the Halloween feast was subdued, almost defeated. It was officially the first anniversary of the vanquishing of the Dark Lord Voldemort, but with Snape at the High Table scowling down at them, no one dared show any happiness in that. Snape detested anything that suggested people were enjoying themselves. At the slightest sound of merriment, he would swoop down upon them like a giant bat to snatch it away. He was a real killjoy, and not even his Slytherins were truly safe from him as they were expected to comport themselves with solemn dignity outside of their common room.

Even the headmaster's pumpkin orange robe with dancing black skeletons didn't get more than a quiet chuckle from the assembled students. Determined to do something to fix what he was certain was remembered sorrow, Albus stood and tapped his spoon against his goblet. All eyes immediately turned towards the High Table. Albus' blue eyes twinkled as he looked down on the many upturned faces, studiously ignoring the feeling of being a king addressing his subjects.

"Today marks the first anniversary of Voldemort's defeat," he intoned. A group wide flinch went through the crowd at his use of the Dark Lord's name. The memory of the Taboo and the consequences for breaking it was still too fresh in everyone's mind for them not to flinch in anticipation. Dumbledore tutted quietly. The automatic Bullhorn Charm carried it faithfully to all corners of the Great Hall. "Many were lost in the war, but we may now rejoice, for our world has returned to peace. Only together can we move on from the tragedies of the past and into whatever the future holds. We must strive to forgive those who made mistakes and embrace them as our fellow wizard-kind."

Many students exchanged silent glances with each other. Surely the headmaster wasn't suggesting what they thought he was, that they just embrace a group of terrorists just for the sake of peace. Genocidal racism wasn't simply a mistake like miscasting a Silencing Charm. A few of the Muggle-borns looked paler than they had before Dumbledore's speech. The scattered students who were the sole survivors of their families due to Death Eater attacks looked as if they had been slapped at the suggestion that they embrace the very people who had made them orphans in the first place.

Then Snape let out a high-pitched scream worthy of a horror movie heroine, drawing the entire room's attention. He was staring down at his hands which had turned (just like the rest of his visible skin) the exact same color of the fake nacho cheese flavoring that Muggles used on crisps. His robes were no longer the black he wore so exclusively. Instead, they were now a shade of red even more eye-bleedingly bright than the crimson of Gryffindor and bouncing across the fabric was golden Dark Marks. Snape's greasy hair had also changed colors to a rather uninspiring shade of green that matched week-old pea soup. Already, the orange of Snape's face was darkening as his still-dark eyes swept across the assembled students.

"When I find out which one of you little dunderheads are responsible," he hissed, "I will render you down for potion ingredients." Still operational because of Dumbledore remaining standing, the Bullhorn Charm carried Snape's words as diligently as it had the headmaster's voice. Dumbledore tutted gently, as if he was scolding a misbehaving Shi Tzu rather than a person who had just threatened the students under his care. Snape turned his furious gaze towards the old man. "I'm serious!"

Dumbledore just frowned at the irascible man, appearing nothing more than mildly disappointed at Snape's threat. With a disgusted scoff, Snape threw his napkin onto his still empty plate and stood to storm off in a huff. He made it off the dais that held the High Table before freezing in place at the base of the stairs.

As suddenly as he had screamed before, Snape jerked violently sideways. Then he jerked again. It happened again, and _again_, until the professor who had spent the last two months terrorizing the students of Hogwarts was in the exact center of the space between the House tables and the High Table. Then he threw his hands in the air as he began to move his hips from side to side. His legs would kick out occasionally, far higher than anyone in his audience would wish for him to be kicking. All the while, expletives spilled from his thin lips until he was panting too hard to continue the shouts.

That was about the time when people started to realize that the spastic motions were supposed to be _dancing_, even it only resembled the act in passing.

A loud snapping noise accompanied by Snape screaming breathlessly finally spurred Dumbledore into action. He waved his knobby wand around in increasingly intricate ways as he tried to dispel whatever magic was forcing his Potions professor to dance. Nothing seemed to work, and it was quickly becoming apparent that Snape was having difficulties continuing as he was. Desperate to do something, Dumbledore cast the strongest petrification spell that he knew, trusting that the Elder Wand would give it enough power to restraint Snape without harming him.

Snape's limps snapped together as if magnetized. He wobbled for a moment before toppling forward like a domino. The crowd winced in sympathy at the wet cracking sound he made when he hit the stone floor of the Great Hall. Even trapped in Dumbledore's spell, Snape's body continued to undulate as if trying to continue dancing.

Abruptly, Snape stilled completely.

The only thing still in motion was the bouncing Dark Marks which glittered in the light of the flouting candles. Cautiously, Dumbledore approached to kneel beside the supine potion-maker. With his wand still in one hand, he rolled the man over onto his back. The formerly large nose that had stood as proudly from Snape's face as it had on any of his Roman ancestors was now crumpled almost flat against Severus' paling face.

Snape still didn't move, not even to breathe.

"He's dead," Dumbledore announced in shock, as if he couldn't believe it. "He's dead."

There was a beat of silence as the entire room held their breaths.

Then the applauds started, slowly at first as if testing out the daring disrespect before gaining momentum until the cheering started as well. Someone, probably a Muggle-born given what it was, began singing a parody of the Munchkins' celebration song for the death of the Wicked Witch of the East. Albus Dumbledore looked around the joyful students with a disapproving expression that they all ignored, wondering where it had all gone wrong.

In the shadows, like a good elf should be, the dark-skinned elf that was behind the Bad Man finally facing justice for all the Bad Things he had done watched as the baby masters celebrated their new freedom from the abuser that the headmaster had put on the staff.

"For my Leta," she whispered before snapping away to the kitchens. An elf's work was never done, and the babies would need their dinner eventually, after all.


	13. Minter is Coming

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I'm blatantly stealing from Magi Silverwolf's unfinished series that has a piercer Harry Potter & a tattoo artist Luna Lovegood, but I'm putting my own spin on it to make a coffee shop AU type thing for my soulmate challenge.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Two Cakes! (Y); No Punny Business (Y); Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Click Bait It; In a Flash; Letter of the Day (Y); Flags & Ribbons (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Quiet Time; Neurodivergent; Ethnic & Present; Feeling So Logical [Presentable]; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Escape] (Y); Themes & Things C [Bandages] (Y); Coffee Life; Times to Come; Time Gaps; Ways to the Heart; Shipmas; Seeds; Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC (x2); Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Sett to Destroy; Death's Inevitable Master  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness Day 04 (Feeling What Soulmate Feels) (New Beginnings); Insane Prompt Challenge [21] (Thunderstruck); 365 [16] (Decade); Galleon Club (White)  
**Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter; Feelings Echo Soulmate AU  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Most Human Bean; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice; Zucchini Bread; Nontraditional; Found Family; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Creature Feature; Unicorn; Larger than Life; Eternal Boredom; A Long Dog; Tomorrow's Shade; Delicious Lie; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Bee Haven; Wabi Sabi; Odd Feathers)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Evolution); HoSE (Schooner; Obscure)  
**Word Count:** 973

(^^)  
**Minter is Coming**  
(^^)

Blaise closed his eyes as he leaned back in the chair of his office. Over the years, he had learned to that this particular kind of pain was nothing to worry about, not like the sharp and searing pain of his younger years. This slowly building ache, despite Blaise not understanding what was causing it to his soulmate, was cleansing in comparison. He breathed with it for a few moments, letting it wash over him along with the sense of calm that accompanied it. Then he straightened back up and refocused on doing the paperwork that keeping his café running involved. He only had less than an hour before he needed to get the shop open for the early birds.

He did wonder who his soulmate was, but as years passed without any real clue, Blaise had accepted that he may never know. Most people didn't meet their soulmates, after all, and they all managed to leave full lives that made them content, even happy. Why should he expect to be any different? Besides, it wasn't like his soulmate was likely even aware that he existed. Given the amount of pain that they went through growing up, it was unrealistic to expect them to have noticed the far more normal level of injuries that Blaise had suffered during the same period. After all, what was a papercut or scraped knee compared to broken limbs and that ever-present gnawing feeling that could only have been hunger?

By the time Blaise had moved out to the public portion of the café to help Tracey finish the opening procedures, the active portion of the pain echoing from his soulmate had settled into the dull ache that would last for a few more hours before dissipating completely. Each time Blaise lifted a tray of pastries, the muscles in his arm would pull at the spot that the pain had been focused this time until he finally had to pass off that task to Tracey, who gave him a knowing look but didn't ask any questions.

Tracey knew him too well not to know what was happening.

Out of habit, he began putting together the order for Freak's Bohemia, the tattoo parlor and piercing studio the next block over. Another Hogwarts graduate, Luna Lovegood, ran it with a partner that she never named. Even though the shop kept odd hours (even for New York, where everyone kept odd hours), Lovegood would be at the café every day within five minutes of them opening to pick up the exact same order: one large black coffee, one extra large mocha cappuccino with extra whip cream and caramel drizzle, and a dozen Widow Claws (a café special similar to bear claws but made with devil's food batter and filled with blueberry frosting). The blonde would then pick a pastry at random to add to the order.

Except that today, Lovegood wasn't the first customer to enter the café. Instead, it was a much healthier looking version of Harry Potter. His dark tan skin no longer had the gray undertone it had had back at Hogwarts. He had also filled out so that he no longer looked like his skin was stretched tightly over his bones, though he apparently hadn't grown any taller in the years since the Final Battle. He had grown his black hair out so that it was now in a thick braid that hung over his shoulder. His emerald eyes were just as arresting as they had always been, and the new glasses framed them nicely.

"Uh, Luna said you normally had our order ready?" Potter asked as he approached the counter. He rubbed the back of his neck. A simple white bandage was wrapped around his bicep, in the same spot that ached in sympathy on Blaise's arm. "I suppose I ought to tell you that I'm here to pick the order for Freak's Bohemia?"

"Yeah, I've almost got it together," Blaise said, a bit thunderstruck. So, this was what happened to the Man-Who-Conquered in the decade since the war? And by the Norns, the man looked good. Distracted as he was, he overfilled the black coffee, splashing the hot beverage on his hand. Blaise cursed lightly as he set the coffee aside and headed towards the utility sink near the coffee pots for this exact reason. He turned back just in time to watch Potter's gaze move from his own hand to Blaise's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Potter denied immediately, too fast for it to be anything but automatic. "It's just—when you burned yourself just now… you know what? Never mind. It's not important." His green eyes darted around the pastry selections. "I think Luna would like a Minter Soldier today."

Dutifully, Blaise added the star-shaped pastry to the box of Widow Claws. The smell of peppermint lingered in the air even after the box had been closed. He could feel Potter's eyes on him as he placed the two drinks into a carrier and moved it over to the counter near the pastry box. That gaze didn't get any lighter as the pair of wizards concluded their business.

"Thank you for coming," Blaise concluded as he passed over the change. "Enjoy your sugar rush."

"I will," Potter said absently. "I hope to see you again soon."

"I would like that," Blaise agreed. The feeling that they were talking about more than coffee and pastries was heavy between them. Blaise smiled in an attempt to lighten the tension. Looking far too nervous for a former Gryffindor, Potter returned the smile. "I would really like that."

"Then it's a date."

Blaise didn't even pretend to understand the shoulder bump that Tracey gave him after Potter had left.

He knew better than to think just because he was friends with them that women would suddenly make sense.


	14. A Gray Life

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Despite being a Soulmate AU, somehow the narrating character never meets theirs. Instead, they end up with a family.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Two Cakes!; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Short Jog; Letter of the Day; Flags & Ribbons; Rian-Russo Inversion; Quiet Time; Neurodivergent; Ethnic & Present; Advice from the Mug; Feeling So Logical []; Themes & Things A [Love]; Themes & Things B [Protection]; Old Shoes; Interesting Times; Golden Times; Tissue Warning; Seeds; Summer Vacation; Sett to Destroy; Bow Before the Blacks; Slytherin MC; Gryffindor MC  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness D05 (Can't See Colors Until Meeting Soulmate) (Confused)  
**Representation(s):** Autistic Harry Potter; Blacks  
**Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Abandoned Ship; Surprise!; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates; White Dress; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Larger than Life; Tomorrow's Shade; Mouth of Babes; Rediscovery; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Bee Haven; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Intercept); O3 (Orator; Ox); HoSE (Sanctuary)  
**Word Count:** 1725

(^^)  
**A Gray Life**  
(^^)

Living with the Dursleys had given Harry an understanding that no matter what anyone _said_ the rules were, sometimes those rules had to be broken. He had also learned that different rules applied to different people, or maybe it was that there were different consequences for breaking the rules for different people. He had never really figured that part out, only that he was automatically more likely to get in severe trouble than Dudley if anything came up, and people automatically assumed the worst of him no matter what he showed them.

Harry tried not to think about the list he had made about all the ways he was different than the other residents of Little Whinging. He tried not to think about how some things on that list, made on scrap of paper with a broken crayon his first year of school, were things that he would never, not even if he lived to be a hundred and sixty, be able to change or overcome. He would never be able to understand the weird way people said things by talking around them or why they understood that things were supposed to be done just by mentioning that they needed to be. He could pretend to look people in the face and keep his voice from going all wonky, but that only ever worked when he concentrated on it and it always got away from him when he was tired. He would never be as pale as everyone else, especially not when he had outside chores and the sun darkened his already dark skin.

He couldn't even stop the odd things from happening around him, though he had managed to recognize the feeling he got right before something happened. He could even make some things happen when he wanted, which came a lot more naturally than keeping his voice the right tone and volume. After the first time he was seen, he was always careful to make sure that no one (_especially_ Aunt Petunia) saw him do the tricks.

The cupboard was very dark when the door only opened for his daily bathroom visit, and the quiet got very loud with no one around.

Yes, Harry was very careful to never earn that punishment again if he could help it.

Living with the Dursleys had taught Harry that the rules were made by those who had the power, and those rules could change in an instant if those in power felt that Harry had done something wrong. He had learned that through pain and hunger and loneliness. He had paid for those lessons with blood, sweat, and (until he learned how to control himself) tears. He had learned that any kindness had to be repaid in triplicate and any transgression, tenfold. He had learned that children were even worse than adults when it came to determining how would be best to punish the mistakes he inevitably made.

So Harry knew that he should just nod along with the boy in the robe shop and not question the quasi-useful spill of information he was gaining. He knew what he should do.

"I don't know what any of that is," Harry said instead, and watched as the boy's pointy face went from confused to shocked. Harry swallowed before beginning to rabble in the way that always made Aunt Petunia slap him sharply across the mouth. "I didn't know about my parents until Hagrid showed up with my letter. My family never told me anything about magic. I barely knew that my Aunt Petunia was my mother's sister. I didn't even know my parents' name until Hagrid got into an argument with Aunt Petunia about how they didn't die in a car crash while driving blind drunk because they got saddled with me. Honestly, I wouldn't blame them if that was true, because I'm a horrid freak just like my family has always said, but Hagrid said they were killed by a Dark Lord whose name no one is supposed to say and that Hagrid apparently can't spell, and that's why everyone wanted to shake my hand in the pub. So I don't know what quid-pitch is or what's so bad about a huffle-puffle, and I don't know how to answer your question about what our sort is supposed to be."

"Wha…, I mean, uh," the pale boy stammered once Harry managed to get his mouth to stop running. Even the seamstress assistant seemed determine to focus on hemming the unadorned dark robe that was apparently the uniform of Hogwarts. The boy was staring at Harry as if he had never seen someone talk themselves into a month of cupboard time before. Harry would have given anything for the stool he was standing upon to suddenly turn carnivorous and eat him.

"Close your mouth, Draco, dear," a woman said stiffly from beside the door. Her lips were pursed together the same way that Aunt Petunia's did when she wanted to scream about how stupid Harry was but was restraining herself because Harry had already been embarrassing enough. Other than that tiny reminder, the woman couldn't be any more different from Aunt Petunia. She looked a bit like an angel, and for the first time since Harry really began to understand how useless he was, he wished he had met his soulmate and could see the colors of the woman, because surely, she would be even more beautiful still. "You are not a fish."

"Mother, did you hear—"

"Draco Aurelius," she interrupted.

The boy's teeth clicked with how quickly he shut his mouth. The woman glided across the shop as if she was a cloud being moved by a breeze. She lifted a delicate seeming hand towards her son. Harry dropped his gaze to the other boy's knees, determined to give him a bit of privacy to receive his punishment instead of eagerly watching as Dudley would have.

Yet there wasn't the expected sound of a slap. Curiosity won out against desire to be respectful, and Harry risked sneaking a peek at the pair. Unfortunately, both of them were now staring at him, visibly upset. Harry dropped his gaze again hastily and tried to ignore the sour taste suddenly on his tongue that was making his stomach queasy.

The sound of the shop door slamming open drew Harry's eyes back up. The blonde had moved close enough that she filled most of Harry's vision. His stomach clenched threateningly when he realized that she had her hand raised towards him. Over her slight shoulder, he could see Hagrid looming in the now-open doorway. He looked just as enraged as he had last night while arguing with Uncle Vernon.

"Don' touch him," Hagrid boomed, making Harry curl into himself. "Don' yeh dare touch him. He doesn' need anythin' from any o' yer sort."

"Oh, really," the woman questioned, "and what _sort_ would that be, Mr. Hagrid?" She had only turned slightly towards the potential threat, and Harry could see that her perfect features had morphed into a mask of polite indifference. Her aristocratic nose had scrunched slightly, as if she was smelling something slightly unpleasant, but that was the only indication that she might be upset. Even her tone was perfectly even. "You do realize, of course, that you have no authority in this situation?"

"I know that Dumbledore would fight yeh," Hagrid vowed. The blonde raised her chin, looking the giant in the eye despite their differences in height. For a moment, Harry had the mental image of another woman superimposed over her, and both were snarling like wolves defending their den.

"He's welcomed to try," she declared before turning entirely towards Harry. Her raised hand gently cupped his chin. With equally gentle care, she turned his face towards hers. Her eyes seemed to see every secret he had ever had, and Harry found himself wishing he could see the colors that came with true love, because he was betting those eyes would be just as beautiful as the rest of her. "You have the look of your grandmother in your face. Aunt Dorea would have so pleased that her Black genes managed to shine through despite how much Potter there is in you."

"You knew my grandmother?" Harry asked. The woman smiled and ran her hand over his cheek. He couldn't help leaning into the comforting touch.

"I knew your father and godfather as well," she whispered loudly. Her lips pursed for a moment as she looked at his eyes for a moment. "I knew your mother as well, though we were never as close as I was with my cousins. You have her eyes as much as you have your father and grandmother's face."

"You're related to me?" Harry felt his eyes prickling as he realized that as nice as this woman was, she must have hated him already to have never visited or checked up on him. As if sensing the spiraling of his thoughts, she shushed him gently.

"Yes, darling, I am related to you," she agreed, "but I was told that you were being raised abroad with relatives who loved and wanted you."

"But I live in Surrey," Harry said, confused, "and the Dursleys never wanted me. I was left on their doorstep like the milk."

"Well, I'm your cousin Narcissa," she replied in a tight voice, "and I will always want you. Family is precious, and children even more so. They should never feel unloved, not even for a moment. Would you like to come home with me and my son?"

"You want me?" Harry asked, feeling shocked down to his very core. He threw his arms around her neck and hugged with all his meager worth. "I do! I do want to go home with you! And I promise that I won't take up much space at all. And I'll learn all your rules, and I'll be as good as I am able, which isn't very much, as Aunt Petunia could tell you, but I'll try really hard, because you're perfect and beautiful and kind."

"I'm sure that you're already perfect," Narcissa argued as she hugged him back just as tightly. "I know that your parents would certainly be proud of you exactly as you are."

If a few tears escaped both of them, well, then no one said anything about it.


	15. Found Wanting

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I have a very low opinion of the Dursleys because of everything that it is _implied in canon_ that they did to Harry. A hesitant goodbye and a "you aren't a waste of space" is not enough to get me to think they're even remotely close to decent people. If you do not think that they were abusive in canon, then this fic is not for you. Also, it should be noted that I reject apocrypha habitually, including the terrible name given there for Luna's mother. I changed it to something less _bad naming magic_. That's who Dione is, for those who aren't familiar with the headcanons that I reuse constantly.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** More than England; Hufflepuff MC; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Sett to Destroy; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Seeds; Shipmas; Tissue Warning; Interesting Times; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Protection] (Y); Feeling So Logical [Responsible]; Lovely Triangle; Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Flags & Ribbons; Short Jog; Two Cakes! (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Agricultural Studies (Task#1: Write about someone feeling unwanted.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [09] (Bodyswap with Soulmate) (Jealousy); Insane Prompt Challenge [680] (No Characters in their Canon Houses); 365 [32] (Moon); Galleon Club (Different Houses AU)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** Summer Bingo [3E] (Moon)  
**Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Luna Lovegood/Harry Potter; Autistic Genii  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Ladylike; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Three's Company; For the Vine); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (Poppy); FR (n/a); O3 (Orator; Olivine); HoSE (Schooner; Obscure)  
**Word Count:** 1714

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**Found Wanting**  
(^^)

Blaise stared at the ceiling of his bedroom as he counted down the minutes until he would switch body with his soulmate. Well, one of them, and honestly, the one that he had always worried about the most. The problem with having two would always be that his Switching Days were split. Instead of having two hours a year where he had a chance to switch into his soulmate's body and potentially learn their identity, Blaise only had one hour for each soulmate, a year apart. Each new moon after the Solstices, he would have an hour in his soulmate's body, while they would have an hour in his.

Every winter, he found himself in Luna's body. Her parents had never been normal but watching Xenophilius lose himself in madness after Dione's death was hard enough in just an hour a year. Even after getting to know Luna once they had both started Hogwarts, Blaise didn't know how she could stand watching it from essentially the front row. He could see how it had made her kind as well as insightful. Nothing enraged him more than how others treated her, throwing any overtures of friendship back in her face with mockery. Even worse was those who treated her as if she was less than what she truly was just because they didn't understand her.

Yet for all of that, it was summers that were harder. Even after all the years of trading places with his other soulmate, Blaise still didn't know who it was. The reason for that made him want to set the world aflame if he thought about it for too long. The boy who was his soulmate was always locked up somewhere. When they had been younger, it had been a cupboard with an angled ceiling that indicated it was under some stairs. Starting the summer after his first year at Hogwarts, it had been a bedroom filled with broken toys. There had been scribbled bits of spells and even runework, but no indication of the boy's identity or even Hogwarts house.

Blaise had only ever met his family once, and they hadn't used the boy's name once during the interaction. Blaise hadn't dared inform the Muggles (and it was clear that they were Muggles, even in that brief interaction) of who he was after Luna's attempt had ended violently. No one could predict what would happen if a soulmate died during a switch, but they had come close to discovering it during that summer visit.

If Blaise was honest, it had probably been that incident that had cemented Luna's loyalty to their unidentified soulmate to the point that the Sorting Hat had sent her straight to Hufflepuff instead of Ravenclaw with him. For all that they didn't know who he was, his influence on both them could easily be seen in their Houses. Luna had been headed towards Ravenclaw until her loyalty outgrew even her prodigious intellect due to almost dying in their soulmate's stead. Likewise, Blaise had been silently trotting towards Slytherin until his thirst for knowledge had overcome his ambition to be free of the reputation given his mother.

He couldn't help but wonder if they had influenced their third in kind, despite his complete silence on the matter. Both Blaise and Luna had left numerous notes for him, hoping that he would contact them in return. Neither had ever received a response of any sort. It was starting to look very much as if their third did not want to be found. Even their parents had failed to gain any meaningful information during the Switchings, the few times that they could confirm that they had been spoken with him. That was something that they could only do in retrospect as he always pretended to be which he had switched into and had as much skill as any chameleon in doing so.

Both Blaise and Luna had been excited to realize that for the first time, the new moon after the Summer solstice would be falling during the school year. It would have been their chance to finally discover at least their soulmate's House, if not interact with his Housemates and discover his identity. Then they could work on convincing him to join their relationship during the days between the Switching. Maybe they would even be able to finally do something about the Muggles he lived with.

That hope had died when Luna had returned to her body after her Switching. Blaise had just spent the last several hours cuddling her on the couch in the abandoned classroom they had claimed as their own. They had been waiting for the random hour when one of them would Switch, determined that the other would get a chance to talk to their soulmate. Luna had jerked in Blaise's arms as she came _back_ and had begun to cry as she described the lengths that their soulmate had gone to in order to prevent them from discovering any of the clues they had been expecting. The sting of rejection had been strong as Blaise had processed that he had just spent an entire hour with his unknown soulmate, and he hadn't bothered to let him know at all.

Blaise sighed as he focused on the oddly shaped splotch on one of the stones in the ceiling. Maybe they should accept that their third didn't _want_ to be with them. Maybe they should accept that while they were happy to be united, that they just weren't what their third wanted out of life. Yet something made Blaise hesitate about that interpretation, and he knew _exactly_ what it was.

It was the Muggles that their soulmate lived with, who hadn't hesitated to react with violence to Luna's presence in their soulmate's body, who hadn't addressed their soulmate with anything other than _freak_ or _boy_ when Blaise had met them. Despite the nagging sense of being unwanted, Blaise couldn't help but think that there might be more to it than that. He couldn't help but remember how since the disastrous attempt from Luna to make contact, there had been protective magic separating their soulmate from any potential threats, sunk into the wood of that dark cupboard with crudely phrased runes that had been carefully carved. After Blaise's first year at Hogwarts, the phrasing of the ones on the doorframe of that bedroom had been even better.

Whoever their third was, he was clearly intelligent and driven. Rune magic was not the easiest magic to wield successfully, even if it was one of the few types of magic that had lingered in the non-magical world after the Statute of Secrecy had been passed. Even if he didn't want Blaise and Luna as soulmates, he was loyal enough to be protective of them. There was also not doubt in Blaise's mind that his soulmate could only have survived his childhood by being filled with courage.

Blaise stumbled a bit as he settled suddenly into the body of the soulmate he had been just been analyzing. Going from laying down to being in motion was always a confusing part of the Switching. On the plus side, it appeared that his soulmate had come out of wherever he had locked himself away during Luna's turn. A quick scan of the body he was now in showed that he was not wearing a school uniform, even if he was clearly still at Hogwarts. Given the hour, he had probably been headed toward his dorm.

It would be wrong to use this time to trap his soulmate somewhere to be interrogated. That would make Blaise no better than those despicable Muggles with their cupboard. Spotting a nearby classroom, he ducked in quickly. It wasn't like he could finish the trip to his soulmate's dorm, after all. Once secluded though, Blaise hesitated again, torn between letting his soulmate keep his anonymity and doing anything he could to never see Luna cry like she had earlier.

In the end, the choice was difficult.

After a couple of pats, Blaise found his soulmate's wand tucked into a crudely made pocket on the inside of the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. Blaise looked at the nearly foot-long wand, recognizing it from somewhere that he couldn't immediately place. The wood was barely into the pale range—an apple or a holly, if Blaise wasn't too far off. It was a rather plain wand, with the only true identifier being a burned symbol in the pommel of the handle. Blaise didn't know of any students who had the sign of the Questers on their wand, but wands were personal enough that he didn't expect to.

The wand still worked well enough for Blaise to make the blackboard reflective.

He was not expecting to see Harry Potter looking back at him. There had been a lot of rumors circulating the past four years about the famous wizard. After the Boy-Who-Lived had shocked everyone by being a Hatstall that had finally been sorted into Slytherin, there had been whispers of other things. Some contributed Quirrel's disappearance to him. Others placed the blame for the petrifications of second year on him, especially after the Weasley girl had nearly died. The whole mess with Lupin being a werewolf and Black being revealed as never receiving a trial had also been rumored to have involved him in some way beyond being Black's godson. Then this year, Potter had been chosen as an unexpected fourth champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Jealousy burned through Blaise as he recalled that Daphne Greengrass, the Ice Queen of Slytherin, had been Potter's date to the Yule Ball as well as the person considered by the judges to be who Potter would miss the most. He tried to remember that Delacour's hostage had been her little sister, but Diggory and Krum had both had their soulmates chosen. It hurt more than it probably should. Maybe all the efforts to hide his identity really had been because Potter didn't want them, didn't want to be with the people chosen for him by Magic.

Maybe it was time to accept that.

Blaise closed his eyes and focused on trying to breathe through the pain of that idea.

Being unwanted felt like someone had slipped a dagger between his ribs.


	16. The Issue with Soulmates

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I hate the idea of soulmates, but a good friend mentioned having nonromantic soulmates and my brain took off on a tangent about Narcissa just wanting to be a mother because that role is her soul's destiny. But be warned, there's heavy mention of miscarriages in here.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Seeds; Shipmas; Tissue Warning; Minerva's Headache; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love]; Feeling So Logical []; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Astronomy (Task#3: Use the theme of Achille's Heel.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D06] (Compass Points Towards Soulmate) (Pregnancy); Insane Prompt Challenge [44] (Epitome); 365 [04] (Slave); Scavenger Hunt [88] (WC is Exactly 666); Galleon Club (Blue-Green)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [1C] (Desire)**  
Representation(s):** Narcissa Black Malfoy  
**Bonus Challenges: **Surprise!; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Sneeze Weasel; Nightingale; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Schooner); T3 (Terse; Thimble); O3 (Olivine)  
**Word Count:** 666

(^^)  
**The Issue with Soulmates**  
(^^)

Narcissa checked the compass that magic had inked on her arm again. As stubbornly as any hippogriff, it pointed towards the little clinic in front of her. She shuddered delicately at the thought of entering such a place. It was just so thoroughly _Muggle_, just the epitome of everything she had been taught to distain. The people entering and leaving the building was just as thoroughly Muggle, and strangely, the vast majority of them were women. The few men she could spot also had traces of something feminine to them, just a trace like perfume scenting the air of a room long after the wearer had left.

She didn't understand any of this, but then why did she need to? They were Muggles. They were beneath her.

Still her compass insisted that her soulmate could be found within the little clinic.

Narcissa sighed resignedly. She tugged on her silk gloves to assure herself that they were perfectly smooth. Then she did the same on the sleek dress she was wearing. The blue-green shade of it complemented her pale skin perfectly, as it should. Before she had married Lucius, she had been a Black, and Blacks deserved only the best in life as in all things. They were above such things as looking washed out because of poor choices in fashion.

'_They were above curses as well,'_ a little voice reminded her. That was the pixie among the kneazles, wasn't it? She had believed that she was strong enough to go against the curse of marrying someone other than her soulmate. After all, Blacks did so all the time, and next to none of them had ever succumbed to the curse. Yet what else could be causing all the miscarriages? She and Lucius had been trying hard, and while she was quick to catch, she was also quick to lose.

She just wanted to be a mother. She couldn't bear to lose another one. Even more than the love she shared with her husband (and she would never admit to how relieved she was when Andromeda ran off her Muggle-born lover, which left Narcissa as the only one who could fulfill the marriage contract with the House of Malfoy), Narcissa longed for a child to fill her arms. She longed for the sleepless nights and sticky fingers, for the nagging questions and spoiled demands. Even if all she could ever have was one, she _wanted_ to be a mother with all her being.

The needle of her compass wiggled as if it was trying to entice her to follow it. Still she hesitated. Was a child really so great a desire that she should make herself a slave to fate? What did _fate_ know of propriety or honor? What did fate know of vows and loyalty? Why should she, a daughter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, debase herself by acknowledging that fate might still have any power over her? She straightened her back, pulling the tattered shroud of her pride about her like an old cloak.

Then she marched into the tiny clinic as if she was going to her own beheading.

She was going to be a mother, even if it took debasing herself with a Muggle to do so.

Turns out that the answer was much better, if a bit more complicated. She had a small infection that was commonly known in the Muggle world. In combination with other issues, it was causing the issue she had been having. After gaining her diagnosis and treatment, her compass had spun madly until pointing resolutely back towards Wiltshire and home.

Within the year after her visit to the Muggle clinic, Narcissa had caught again. This time she managed to carry the babe nearly to full term. Her son was born early but healthy. He was perfect in her eyes, just as she had imagined.

She would kill for him without remorse.

Following her compass had been the best idea she had ever had.


	17. Reflections (rated M)

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So, this is meant to give you creepy feels, because Snape is being really gross here. Moreover, in addition to being a peeping creeper, he's thinking of dominating Lily without caring about how she might really feel about things. This is a known problem in the kinkster community, one that was made _worse_ by the stupid books that a bunch of people thought were how we really are.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Two Cakes!; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash; Themes & Things A [Love]; Feeling So Logical []; Old Shoes; Interesting Times; Minerva's Migraine; Seeds; Sett to Destroy (Y); Slytherin MC; Misunderstood  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Health & Fitness (Task #4: Write about someone trying to climb something.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D12] (Mirror Shows Soulmate) (Secrets); Insane Prompt Challenge [913] (Jealous); 365 [] (); Scavenger Hunt [] (); Galleon Club (Mirror)  
**Representation(s):** Snape Being Gross  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Muck & Slime; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Lock & Key; Unwanted Advice; Persistence Still); Chorus (Tomorrow's Shade; Peddling Pots; Fizzy Lemonade)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Sanctuary); TY (n/a); CM (Brier; Unilateral); SN (Rail; Negate)  
**Word Count:** 919

(^^)  
**Reflections**  
(^^)

Severus Snape didn't pay any mind to the way his hands shook as he reached for the sheet he had draped over his soul-mirror. That reaction was normal for him. He tried to limit his time before the mirror to only days when he had nothing pressing to do. Watching his beloved Lily was a guilty pleasure that he knew he would never tire of, and it always inevitably led to the same conclusion. It was the anticipation that was making his hands shake, nothing more.

The tarnished and blackened frame of the mirror did nothing to distract from the image within. As he had come to expect from these sessions, his soulmate was just starting to wake up. Severus moved the mirror into the position he had found worked best for his planned activity as Lily stretched in the mirror. Then he set to work on arranging the pillows on his bed and the supplies that he was sure to need for a nice leisurely climb towards his peak.

By the time Lily was stumbling to the tiny bathroom of her apartment, Severus was ready and reclining against the stack of pillows against his headboard.

His eyes feasted on the pale skin of his soulmate as she shed her pajamas. He wanted to lick every single freckle, especially the ones in the cluster on her left buttocks. He groaned as he thought about how she might react to that. She had barely spoken to him since their fifth year, but in his head, she had forgiven him for that damn slip of the tongue. In his head, she knew that he was watching her undress and was teasing him with this strip show instead of merely undressing to take care of her daily ablations.

Knowing that he was going to need it, he grabbed the bottle of the slick potion he had created just for these occasions. He was generous with it because the last thing he wanted to do was fumble with a cork while distracted by passion. It was better for things to be too slick _now_ than too dry _later_. Also the excess helped him imagine that he was in the scene with his soulmate as she showered, something that she would probably never allow because of that git who had turned her from him.

Severus shoved away the memory of Potter showing off the tiny hand mirror that was his soul-mirror as Lily rolled her eyes behind him. She had smiled the whole time her boyfriend had been bragging, but Severus had noted that she had not shown off her own mirror. He was certain, even if he couldn't prove it, that it was because her own mirror showed Severus. Someday, _someday_, Severus was going to make that git pay and then Lily will be his, as she was always meant to be.

Meanwhile, Severus would have these stolen moments.

His hand felt like heaven as he wrapped it around his length. How much better would it be if it were Lily's instead, though? He would probably need to teach her how to do it the way he liked, how to do a little twist at the root instead of the head. She might resist, thinking (as she always did) that she knew better than him. He would be forced to take action to clarify things for her. Severus groaned as he twisted his hand at the bottom of his stroke. Lily's ass would look stunning turned a shade that matched her fiery hair. His hand sped up as he imagined how she would get teary from his slaps. Maybe he would plunge into her no-doubt sloppy cunt after he had done turned her ass red.

Maybe he would press his chest against her back and whisper in her ear about how good a slut she was for her _master_. She would likely deny it, but Severus knew that she would love that treatment. After all, she was his soulmate. They were matched by fate, and of course, they would match in every way. Besides, after playing so hard to get, Lily did need to be taught a lesson or two about her place in the world. He couldn't have her thinking that she had any right to just tease him like this, after all.

He stroked himself faster as his ecstasy climbed higher. In the mirror, Lily was finishing her morning shower. With perfunctorily motions, she twisted her long hair into a towel before using another to dry the rest of her body. He imagined bending her over the sink and shoving in without any warning. He panted at the idea, feeling his balls pulling up against him.

Severus reached his peak as Lily began to apply lotion to her thighs. In his head, the thick, white lotion was his ejaculation, and she was rubbing it in as a show that she accepted his rightful domination of her beautiful body. He couldn't wait until the day that his fantasies were real, when he was watching all this from the same room as Lily rather through a soul-mirror.

The painful twinge of a Summons interrupted his afterglow, reminding him that the Dark Lord had promised that Severus would be allowed to keep whatever pets he wanted of the known Muggle-borns once they were successful. He gave the mirror one last look before draping the sheet back over it. As he dressed, he thought about that promise.

She would look so good with a collar.


	18. As Cain to Abel

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Yes. Dumbledore is one of my least favorite characters. Why do you ask?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Sett to Destroy; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.): **n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D17] (Limited Word Pool) (Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory); Insane Prompt Challenge [698] (Letter); 365 [317] (Hazard); Scavenger Hunt [99] (Write a letter!fic.); Galleon Club (Fierce)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a  
**Word Count:** 562

(^^)  
As Cain to Abel  
(^^)

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore  
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards  
Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot  
Order of Merlin (First Class)

Dear Mr. Dumbledore,

I am writing on the behalf of Gringotts Bank and the Goblin Unified Nation to inform you that your request for a replacement key for Vault 687 is denied due to the death of the legal vault holder: Master Haridard Jamadagni Potter, Heir to the Honorable and Esteemed House of Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, and Heir to the Ineffable and Immortal House of Peverell. Master Potter died last week of Word Lapse Syndrome. Notification of the death has been forwarded to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with a request for investigation into how a child of two magical parents and with confirmed magical abilities came to be living in the Muggle world, a known hazard that increases the likelihood of Word Lapse Syndrome.

Having no paperwork on record to direct disbursement of contents, ownership of Vault 687 has been added to the holdings of Heir Potter's legal guardian of record, Mister Sirius Orion Black, Lord (pending acceptance of the investment) to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Master of the Defensive Arts, Master of Arithmancy, Master of Runes, and Warlock of the First Degree. If you wish, you may request authorization from Mr. Black for another request for a replacement key.

It has also come to our attention that you have a few artifacts belonging to the Honorable and Esteemed House of Potter and the Ineffable and Immortal House of Peverell. The list is quite extensive. The full itemized list is enclosed, but of special concern are the following items: the personal wand of Jamadagni Chandresh Potter, the personal wand of Lily Elizabeth Potter _nee_ Evans, an heirloom invisibility cloak, and an enchanted baby blanket, dyed with woad.

The above listed items are to be remanded to the account agent for the Potter estate within seven days. The items on the full list must be remanded within twenty-eight. If these items are not remanded within the given time, Gringotts Bank will be forced to file suit against you for either the items themselves or their approximate value in British magical currency.

As a final item, in the course of our still ongoing investigation into the untimely death of the legal vault holder for Vault 687, we have come across evidence that you have authorized the use of the image and commonly known name of Master Potter and well as other uses of property belonging to the Potter estate. In accordance with Gringotts policy, a full investigation has been launched to determine the full extent you profited from your fraudulent actions. The sum of which will be taken from your accounts and added to the contents of Vault 687, to be disbursed with it.

You are welcomed to prevent evidence showing authorization from Master Potter's legal guardian to act on Master Potter's behalf. You will have a chance to do so this Friday at Gringotts Bank, London Branch, Conference Room B. The account agent will be available between the hours of one o'clock and four o'clock in the afternoon.

With all due respect,

Tripstricker the Fierce  
First Born of the Blood Cloak Clan  
Head of Accounting, Gringotts Bank, London


	19. Enough

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Sometimes, things just become overwhelming. I expect that meeting your soulmate might just like that.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Two Cakes! (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash; Letter of the Day; Flags & Ribbon; Rian-Russo Inversion; Quiet Time; Neurodivergent; Themes & Things A [Love]; Themes & Things B [Protection]; Feeling So Logical [Cynical]; Old Shoes; Times to Come; Tissue Warning; Shipmas; Seeds; Sett to Destroy; Slytherin MC; Gryffindor MC; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [19] (Memory Exchange at First Touch) (Surprised); Insane Prompt Challenge [343] (Sobbing); 365 [310] (Captive); Scavenger Hunt [81] (Write a fic with flashbacks); Galleon Club (Angelic)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [4A] (Storm)  
**R******e**presentation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter; Autistic Harry Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates; Middle Name; Nontraditional); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Unicorn; Larger than Life; Tomorrow's Shade; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); HoSE (Schooner; Sanctuary); FR (Evolution); O3 (Olivine); T3 (Terse; Toad)  
**Word Count:** 846

(^^)  
**Enough**  
(^^)

It came as a surprise. Actually, that was an understatement to say the least. It had been all over the papers about how Ginny Weasley was the lucky soulmate of Harry Potter. _Witch Weekly_ had dedicated a whole ten pages to how she had relived the first time that Potter had flown on a broom. Blaise distinctly remembered how when the magazine had been delivered, Luna Lovegood had laughed until she had tears running down her cheeks right there in the middle of the Great Hall. He only vaguely remembered there being some kind of row between the so-called _Golden Trio_ in the wake of It, that had them splitting down the middle for the second time in the same school year, with Granger joining Weasley's side of the divide.

The article on the matter published in _The Quibbler_ was so outrageous that Blaise had saved it for days when he needed a good chuckle. Working as a curse-breaker for the Ministry was nowhere near what anyone would call _entertaining_, even if it was something to fill the hours between movie marathons with his little sister (who had been one of the first children born after the end of the Second Blood War).

So when Blaise had finally had the chance to formally meet Harry Potter after being assigned to assist the Auror Corps, Blaise was surprised to find himself tossed into memory upon the first brush of their skin.

At first, he didn't even realize that he was in a memory at all. It was so dark that he was almost convinced that he had passed out. The walls surrounding him were close and unfinished, like the space as an afterthought or someplace where a person wasn't meant to be at all. It also smelled sharp and astringent, like cleaning potions were badly sealed nearby. Something like pine and lemon wove through the potion smell like the fingers of an overly possessive lover and did nothing to cover up the astringency of it.

Pain pulsed along his back and from the side of his head. In fact, everything ached in a dull way, like whatever was causing it had settled into the marrow of his bones. His stomach felt like it was attempting to eat itself in lieu of having anything else. His throat was so dry that it felt like it was sticking together.

Through it all, Blaise heard the realization that Potter had come to in that dark, horrible place.

_Maybe they're right. Maybe I am nothing but a good-for-nothing freak. Of course, I can't do anything right, so why would they ever think any different? I just want to be loved. Why can't I be good enough to be worth loving? Will I ever be good enough?_

Blaise slammed back into the present as suddenly as he had slipped into the memory. Potter was staring at him with tears shimmering in his emerald eyes. Not daring to drop _Harry_'s hand, Blaise reached out with his other hand to cup Harry's cheek. Gently, he stroked along the dark cheek with his thumb. Unconsciously, Harry leaned into his palm, like a flower turning towards the sun.

"What did you see?" Blaise asked softly. He suspected what it might be, since what he had seen had to be Harry's worst memory. That meant that Harry had to have seen Blaise's _best_ memory. Blaise knew what he considered to be his best memory, but magic could be finicky about what it chose. Harry's eyes slid shut as if he was trying to hold the memory close.

"A woman had just given birth," Harry whispered, sounding for all the world like he was offering a prayer. "She was so strong, and the baby was so beautiful."

"Elenora was particularly angelic in those first few hours," Blaise agreed. He gave a soft smile, as he always did at the thought of his sister. "That impression did not last long, as I learned that siblings came with annoyances, but I still wouldn't trade my family for anything. It is small and sort of broken, but still good."

Harry let out a startled laugh, clearly picking up on the movie reference. Watching Muggle movies was a phrase that Elenora had never grown out of. As her big brother, Blaise was her favorite cuddle captive for when the urge struck.

"What did you see?" Harry finally asked. Under the tips of his fingers, Blaise could feel the growing tension running through him. Leaning in, Blaise touched his forehead against Harry's and bumping their noses together. Calming under the touch, Harry breathed with him, not moving out of the intimate embrace.

"I saw enough," Blaise whispered, exchanging the words just as they were exchanging breaths. "I saw that you have always been _enough_."

With a choked back sob, Harry pressed closer. Blaise just held on as the slighter man shook with silent sobs, his heart bleeding even as it hungered to make those who had hurt his soulmate _pay_. But for the moment, simply being there to weather the storm was enough.


	20. Honeyed Coffee

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Shockingly, food does help with energy levels, even if sometimes it's really hard to remember that when you're tired.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Technicolour Moon Assistance Fund; Seeds; Shipmas; Ways to the Heart; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Protection] (Y); True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [567] ("All I Ask of You" from _Phantom of the Opera_)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks  
**Bonus Challenges: **Most Human Bean; In the Trench; Surprise! Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Middle Name; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Terrarium); SN (Rail); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine)  
**Word Count:** 409

(^^)  
**Honeyed Coffee**  
(^^)

"What are you putting in your tea?" Remus asked tiredly. Last night was the full moon and he was exhausted from being up all night. He would much rather be upstairs in bed than down here waiting for the Order meeting to start, but since when had he ever gotten his wish? Still he couldn't be certain that he was really seeing exactly what he thought he was seeing. It had to be his exhaustion playing tricks on him.

"One, it's coffee, not tea," Tonks corrected as she continued squeezing the bottle over the rather large mug that was steaming in front of her. Remus breathed in through his nose (something he had learned long ago was never a good idea when he was around people) and sure enough, the bite of coffee was strong enough to make him want to steal the bitter concoction from the Auror. "And two, it's honey."

"Honey?" Remus questioned. He had never thought of using honey to sweeten his coffee, though he did quite like it in his tea, especially in the days preceding and following a full moon. He burned a lot of calories during that time, and honey was an excellent combination of calories and nutrients. It was a better trade off than crisps and tended to be cheaper than chocolate or sweets.

Tonks winked at him before sliding the mug across the table to him. Then she broke out some crackers, thick and buttery looking ones that made his mouth water a bit as his stomach grumbled a reminder that Remus hadn't eaten since an early dinner last night. She nodded towards the mug as she began stacking slices of sharp Chedder, mild Munster, and savory summer sausage on each character before adding it to the plate she was putting together. As he raised the mug to his lips, she added a bunch of red grapes. Then she pulled out a biscuit tin that Remus knew she kept well-stocked with chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers.

The sweetness of the honey melded surprisingly well with the bitter pleasantness of the coffee. Remus could feel the caffeine seeping into his system and making him perk up enough that he felt like something more alive than barely reheated leftovers. Tonks gave him a dazzling smile before pushing the plate of nibbles towards him as well.

"Eat," she commanded. "You'll feel better."

Remus could have sworn that he had heard that exact line spoken before.


	21. Brooms & Runes

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** This was written for Drabble Tag and is now being published so that y'all can enjoy James Potter with ADHD and a nonbinary Sirius Black.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Two Cakes! (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Short Jog; Flags & Ribbons; Rian-Russo Inversion; True Colors; Ethnic & Present; Feeling So Logical [Playful]; Themes & Things A [Love]; Themes & Things B [Protection]; Old Shoes; Minvera's Migraine; Shipmas; Brush; Gryffindor MC (x4)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [493] (School/Higher-Learning); 365 [68] (Urge); Scavenger Hunt [95] (Write a coming of age fic); Galleon Club (James/Lily)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [1A] (Fire)**  
Representation(s):** James Potter/Lily Evans; Sirius Black/Remus Lupin; ADHD James Potter; nonbinary Sirius Black  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates; Zucchini Bread; Sneeze Weasel; Nontraditional; Found Family; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Creature Feature; Wind Beneath; Unicorn; Larger than Life; A Long Dog; Mouth of Babes; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Liberation; Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine)  
**Word Count:** 1052

(^^)  
**Brooms & Runes**  
(^^)

Dating James Potter had a few things that just was part of the package. One of those things was that James was a total broom-head. If given even half a chance, he will make a conversation about either quidditch or broom racing. Yes, even one about their final project in Arithmancy, which was due in less than two days and being finicky in the way that magic tended to be unexpectedly. Lily knew that James connected things in his head better when it dealt with flying in some way. She knew that he had both focusing and _unfocusing_ by turns and in just as many fits as their project was giving them currently. She knew this just as much as she knew Sirius loved lavender nail polish and pomegranate lip stain.

So she really shouldn't be as frustrated as she was when James just stood up unexpectedly and then left muttering about racing brooms. She was still tempted to hex him in the back or throw her stylus at the back of his head. Instead of giving into the threatening fit of pique, she forced herself to breathe through her clenched teeth until the urge passed. Then she packed up both of their stuff and headed back to the tower herself.

Instead of hiding in the girls dorm, she headed up to the sixth year boys dorms. She didn't bother knocking, even though that probably would have been more polite. She also didn't care that she was obviously interrupting some thing private between Sirius and Remus. Sirius had done the same thing to her and James often enough after all. After the first few times, the embarrassment became kind of moot. Well, so long as Peter wasn't around, because he had a tendency to be creepy about anything even remotely sexual, which never stopped being _icky_.

Lily threw their bags onto James' bed and then collapsed atop the two Marauders like her strings had been cut. Remus scooted over enough to let her slip in between him and Sirius. For his part, Sirius just tugged her until she was snuggled up beneath his chin. Then he began rubbing her side. She sighed as she felt the frustration bleed away from violent rage levels to something akin to stubbed toe against bedpost level.

"What did James do this time?" Remus asked, sounding mildly amused rather than annoyed. Sirius hissed at him and started playing with Lily's hair. Remus moved with a huff that made it clear that he had put his hands up in the universal sign of surrender. "Do you want to talk about it or just ignore it for a bit?"

"He ran off to play with his broom," Lily complained, not moving from her snuggle, "and right in the middle of us trying to finish the stupid Runes project, too! I could have just smacked him! Why do boys have to be so stupid?"

"I feel like I should be offended," Remus muttered without real ire. "On behalf of my gender, I would like to lodge a complaint. We're not all stupid...well, except maybe Sirius here."

"Not a boy," Sirius corrected absently. His hand paused in her hair. "Well, most of the time. It does tend to change from moment to moment, after all."

"Pfft," Lily dismissed, "don't speak sense to me. Runes are stupid, too. I should never have taken it, let alone past my OWL."

"You'll get it," Remus assured her as he began rubbing little circles on her back. "You're aces at Runes. Whatever it is won't stop you for long."

"Less encouragement, more cuddles, wolf boy," she snapped. Remus chuckled as Sirius let out his bark-like laugh. Then he obediently curled around her back.

She lost track of time after that, but it couldn't have been more than an hour before the dorm door slammed open before James came running in. He was wind-swept and smelled of the early summer rains that had been plaguing the Highlands around Hogwarts for the last month. His greeting to the three of them was distracted as he immediately began digging through first his school bag, and then hers. With a triumphant cry, he pulled out their project journal.

"I figured it out," James explained. "We need to factor in the vector for the circumferential runes. If we do that, we will get not a _binary_ but a whole spectrum of power control, which we can then control using the..." He trailed off suddenly as he seemed to finally realize the state of them. He immediately looked concerned. "What's happen? Is it your parents? Your sister? Snip-snap?"

"Everything's fine," Lily said, a bit choked by the well of affection she felt for her boyfriend. He wasn't always the best at showing it, but he was such a romantic dork sometimes. Her words combined with how her emotions were obviously overwhelming her did nothing to reassure James, who looked helpless at Remus. In return, Remus sighed.

"Lily just had a bit of boys-are-stupid-itis," Remus said, which cleared up James' confusion immediately.

"I didn't mean it," Lily said, still feeling overwhelmed. "You're all brilliant! Even Sirius, in those fleeting moments when he actually is a boy."

"I think NEWTs have driven Lily around the bend," James commented carefully. "She's upset over nothing?"

"Maybe I did mean it," Lily amended before yanking Sirius to his feet as she stood up. "Maybe it's time for a girls meeting. I have the urge to braid Sirius' hair."

"Wait, but he's not a girl," James protested as his girlfriend and best friend left the dorm. Lily paused to look back over her shoulder at him.

"He's also not a boy," she quipped, "which is close enough for the moment. So_ there_."

"Yeah, so _there_," Sirius agreed. Then they were both gone, probably headed towards the girls dorm. James looked back at Remus, who held his hands up.

"I just date him," Remus said. "I don't even pretend to understand what goes on in the braiding sessions. I think they mostly kvetch about us. And by 'us', I mean _you_."

"I have such supportive friends," James complained. "Whatever did I do to end up with you assholes?"

"Just got lucky, I guess," Remus quipped before plopping down on Sirius' bed. "So what's this about the circumferential runes?"


	22. Anything for Love

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Sapphics by a lake.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; 3rd Rule Bribery [HP Edition] (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [529] ("I would Do Anything for Love" - Meatloaf); 365 [] (Confrontation); Galleon Club (trail)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [5C] (Beach)**  
Representation(s):** Alice LNU/Lily Evans  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Clio's Conclusion)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** FR (n/a); SN (Rail)  
**Word Count:** 543

(^^)  
**Anything for Love**  
(^^)

Alice found Lily crying at the beach under the castle. She had seen the confrontation between Lily and the Marauders. She had heard how Severus, who Lily had always defended despite having ample evidence of where his loyalties truly were, had finally taken that one step too far. Alice didn't blame Lily from running from the scene. The person who was supposed to be her friend had just called her a slur, proving that despite how often he talked about not really believing the whole pure-blood spiel that he wasn't afraid to reach for it whenever it suited him. Being his friend hadn't stopped him from attacking her again.

The only thing that had delayed Alice from following Lily was that someone had to break up the fight, and other than Remus, she had been the only prefect available. The rest were all in exams or studying for exams. Remus should have tried to exercise some control over his friends, but Alice and Lily had discussed it with him before and understood that it was difficult for Remus to speak up against them. Remus had nearly had a panic attack just thinking about it.

Luckily, Professor Sprout had showed up relatively quickly. No doubt the many alarm wards had alerted her to the assault going on by the lake. Sprout seemed to be the only professor who habitually responded to those alarms, and if not her, then Hooch or Sinestra. The trio of women were a true force to be reckoned with when they put their forces together. There was an ongoing bet among the Hufflepuffs that they were dating or even secretly bonded to each other. No one knew for sure, because if they were, then they never left any kind of trail to follow.

The beach under Hogwarts was a pebble beach, which Alice was thankful for as she made her way towards the crying redhead. As soon as Alice had reached her, Lily reached out and clung, as if Alice was the only raft in the sea of turmoil that Lily was lost in. Alice rubbed her back in little circles, trying to be as soothing as possible while letting Lily get out all her grief.

"Things will be better soon," Alice murmured as they cuddled there in the dark on the rocky beach. "You'll see."

"I tried so hard," Lily sobbed. "I've defended him, for so long!"

"I know, love," Alice agreed as she soothed back Lily's hair. She pressed a kiss to her forehead before carefully placing on each cheekbone, then each corner of Lily's mouth. "This is not your fault. It's all on him, love."

"I hate him." Lily hiccupped, ruining the effect of the statement. "I hate him completely!"

"No," Alice corrected gently, "you don't. If you did, it wouldn't hurt this badly for him to betray you like this."

Lily sobbed harder at the words, knowing the truth of them. She couldn't forgive him for this. She had already forgiven him a thousand times for following this ideology. She couldn't do it again, no matter how much their friendship had meant to her. She would have given him anything, but she couldn't do that and still continue to come out whole on the other side.


	23. The Best Birthday

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Some Soulmate AUs just beg for kid soulmates.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Hola, Bonjour, Jambo; Sett to Destroy; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Summer Vacation; Shipmas; Seeds; Tissue Warning; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Protection] (Y); Feeling So Logical []; Lovely Triangle; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Tiny Terror; Quiet Time; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Letter of the Day; In a Flash; Two Cakes! (Y); Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.): **n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness D10 (Meeting in Dreams)(Celebrating a birthday); Insane House Challenge [22] (Ebullient); 365 [102] (Trouble); Scavenger Hunt [82] (Write a fic set within a dream.); Galleon (bronze)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Luna Lovegood/Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; Autistic Harry & Luna; Creature Blaise  
**Bonus Challenges: **Most Human Bean; Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts; Trickster's Union); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Terrarium); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Oath); HoSE (Schooner; Sanctuary)  
**Word Count:** 722

(^^)  
**The Best Birthday**  
(^^)

It was a tradition of sorts. He had the dreams the for as long as he could remember, but it was the birthday ones that were the best ones. There were always three of them a year, one for each of them-even him, Harry! Today was going to be Harry's birthday, and for once, he had an excellent day to share with them! He had been worried about telling his dream friends anything about what had been going on the last week, because the letters and Uncle Vernon's erratic behavior had been frightening and Harry hadn't wanted to frighten them.

Well, that wasn't quite true. Luna may have ended up being a little bit afraid, and with her ebullient nature, Harry absolutely hated anything that brought her enthusiasm down, including worry about him. But Blaise tended to react angrily when Harry mentioned any of the Dursleys. That was kind of refreshing, given that the reason for the anger seemed to be that Blaise didn't like how the Dursleys acted. While it was a little scary to see Blaise get angry, knowing that it was on his behalf was actually...nice.

But today!

Today, Harry had learned that magic was really real! It wasn't just something that his dream friends had made up for their adventures! There really were owls that carried mail and potions that actually did things and goblins that did the banking! It was all as Luna and Blaise had been telling him for years! And Harry couldn't wait to see them, not just because their entire dreamscape was bound to be decked out in purple (Harry's favorite color) for Harry's birthday.

"Happy birthday!" Luna cried as soon as he arrived. She punctuated the greeting by pouncing him into a hug. Just as happy to be there, Harry spun her around as they hugged. The peals of her laughter filled the space around them in that strange way produced by the odd physics of the dreamscape, which was simultaneously infinite and finite. Harry could have continued that hug for the rest of the night, but he had things to tell them! So he forced himself to set Luna back on her feet, taking just a moment to admire the heather of her dress and the matching ribbon braided into her pale hair.

"Magic is real," Harry blurted. Luna blinked her gray eyes at him. They were close enough that Harry could see the thin streaks of pale purple mixed into them. Then Luna looked at Blaise who was also staring at Harry in confusion. His violet eyes met and held Harry's with an insistence that he didn't normally show, because for as much as he could act different in their shared dreams than in real life, that had been one habit that he usually kept. Uncertain now, Harry repeated himself. "Magic is real."

"Yes," Blaise said slowly. "It always has been."

"But it's real the way you describe it to be! Really real!"

"Harry," Luna asked, "are you saying that you didn't know before?"

"Well, of course not," Harry replied. "The Dursleys had always said that magic was hogwash and tripe. I thought magic was just something that we made up here, for fun. But magic is real! And I have it!"

Bronze wings burst from Blaise's back, arching over the three of them. Harry would have cowered back at the sudden movement, but Luna grabbed both his arms to keep him close. With a carefulness that belayed the anger clouding his face, Blaise gathered both Harry and Luna in his arms. The instinctive fear of punishment evaporated at the embrace.

"I'm sorry," Blaise murmured into his hair. "I frightened you, and I should have better control than that. I just...to punish you for heritage while denying you the truth of it? One or the other are unforgivable, but both is simply diabolical. I hadn't even realized that you thought we were making up the magic part of our adventures, so I'm also mad at myself."

"I say we punish him by making him let us have the first pieces of cake," Luna whispered as if sharing a secret. Her eyes twinkled merrily, not letting the seriousness get to her. On impulse, Harry leaned in and rubbed their noses together, making her grin even more.

It was the best birthday ever.


	24. Bell Ringer

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Two sapphics at sea.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** In a Flash; Two Cakes!; 3rd Rule Bribery [HP Edition] (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D22] (One Sentence a Day) (Pirate AU); Insane Prompt Challenge [877] (Swashbuckler); 365 [89] (Blade); Galleon (navy blue)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Katie Bell/Alicia Spinnet  
**Bonus Challenges: **In a Trench; Surprise!; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Clio's Conclusion); Chorus (Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** FR (Satisfaction; Evolution)  
**Word Count:** 555

(^^)  
**Bell Ringer**  
(^^)

Katie felt the tingle of words appearing on her skin. Today's mark curved around the swell of her breast. She longed to strip off her navy blue shirt and then the strips that she used to keep her breasts from moving too much just so she can see what words that Fate had brought her from her soulmate. However, present company and activity preclude such things. She couldn't very well go stripping out of her clothes in the middle of a sword fight, after all. With any luck, the words will still be there when the fight was done and loot stowed. If not, then at least she had recognized the words had stained her skin.

Her soulmate yet lived, even if they had not met.

Her opponent took advantage of the minor distraction to slash at her sleeve. It caught more fabric that flesh, but what flesh it did catch gave as easily as any fish that Cook cleaned for roasting. Immediately, the blood darkened the already dark fabric of her shirt.

"This is my favorite shirt, you fishmonger!" Katie swung back into battle, prepared to make the man pay for ruining her shirt. The sea wind rose suddenly, making the ship tilt threateningly. The sails snapped in the shifting wind, sounding just like the wings of an avenging angel. With quick motions of her blade, she dispatched the man and turned to look over the ship currently bound to her own.

It was a sorry lot, as she had come to expect from those who hunted those fleeing slavery or persecution. She would not shed a single tear for any of these men and would still sleep soundly tonight. She would loot what cargo there was to loot and welcome aboard her own ship any property the bounty hunters had managed to retrieve. They could sail with her for as long as they liked, including just to the first safe harbor if that was their wish. This ship was not worth adding to her growing fleet, so they were set it burning as a pyre.

"You're the one they call the Bell Ringer," came a voice from above. Standing in the crow's nest and leaning on its rim was a woman with skin the exact color of Katie's ship. A multitude of curls spilled over both her shoulders. From her back rose feathered wings the exact same shade of as Katie's shirt. She was the most beautiful woman that Katie had ever seen, and Katie had a taste for the feminine form.

"They do," Katie agreed. She smiled saucily at the angel. "Would you like to find out why?"

"Does that line usually work for you?"

"I would not need any lines to know that you are perfection incarnate," Katie countered, "and deserve to be treated as such. I would delight at the chance to show you, in _exhaustive_ detail."

The woman flapped her wings just enough to assist herself out of the crow's nest before half-flying and half-gliding down to the deck near Katie. This close, Katie could see that she was even more beautiful. Katie could also feel a tension in the air that made her breast tingle like she was gaining even more words.

"I'm Alicia," the winged woman announced, "and I would be very interested in those exhaustive details."


	25. Just a Misunderstanding

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Wrote in Tag; now available for others to enjoy the silliness of Newt Scamander.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Coffee Life; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [254] ("Well, when you put it that way…"); Scavenger Hunt [68] (Write a Dumbledore/FB era fic.); Galleon Club (ridiculous)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Newt Scamander/Leta Lestrange/Tina Goldstein  
**Bonus Challenges: **n/a  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** LiCK (n/a); FR (Satisfaction)  
**Word Count:** 318

(^^)  
**Just a Misunderstanding**  
(^^)

"You have to realize the irony, Newt," Leta said as she sliced cucumbers for sandwiches. She gestured with the blade, emphasizing her point. Used to the way that both his partners tended to talk with their hands, Newt gently touched the wrist of the hand holding the sharp instrument to keep it still as he moved past her to grab a tray of finished sandwiches for the cold case near the register. "You own a coffee shop, but you refuse to even consider drinking the stuff."

"I _have_ considered it," Newt corrected absently. "The acidity upsets my stomach. I'll just stick to tea, ta."

"I just think it's funny," she argued. "Remember back in third year when you would eat nothing but watercress on pumpernickel?"

"It's all that tasted good!"

"Remember how that turned out?"

"How was I supposed to know that Merryweather was housing a kelpie in Greenhouse 3?!" Newt paused to think. Well, actually to remember, because that had been one very adorable kelpie. "Though the little darling did have a lovely disposition once we got to know each other better. That whole murder attempt thing was just a misunderstanding, is all. Really shouldn't be held against her."

"Only you, my love," Leta said with a mock rueful shake of her head, "would be so ridiculous as to call a murder attempt a _misunderstanding_. Especially when the little darling was so nearly successful that you spent a week in the hospital wing."

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kinda bad, huh?" Newt paused again to evaluate what still needed to be done before opening. They had a small gap where they could fit a few samples if they wanted but leaving it wouldn't look odd either. "Do you think we should add the new cookies that Queenie and Jacob created?"

"The chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers?" Leta asked excitedly. "Absolutely! They're positively divine!"


	26. Those Nights

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I'm of the opinion that Percy was right in the argument with Molly & Arthur, even if he did end up giving them exactly what they wanted to end it.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Sett to Destroy; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [624] (Winston Churchill quotation); 365 [123] (Bridge); Galleon Club (afraid)  
**Space Address (Prompt):** n/a**  
Representation(s):** Percy Weasley; Weasleys & the World  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Unwanted Advice; Nontraditional; Persistence Still); Chorus (Unicorn; A Long Dog; Tomorrow's Shade; Peddling Pots; Machismo)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); O3 (Olivine)  
**Word Count:** 367

(^^)  
**Those Nights**  
(^^)

Percy was used to being hated. He had been a prefect at Hogwarts after all. The problem with being the person whose job it was to enforce the rules was that you didn't end up being everyone's favorite person. So he was used to looking at someone and _knowing_ that regardless of whatever else they felt for you, they hated you for your stance on something. Yet even with the fights he had always had with his siblings, Percy would never have believed that he would ever feel that way from a family member.

He could feel the way that his father glared at him as they crossed each other's paths going about their separate work at the Ministry. He could also feel the way that it sometimes softened into nostalgia and longing. He knew that they didn't regret their decision to lash out when he had tried to get them to break from Dumbledore. He knew that they didn't regret choosing to follow that man over a member of their own family, and maybe he deserved that for treating it like an ultimatum in the first place.

Percy just didn't understand how anyone can look at the things that the man had done and still want to put him on a pedestal like he was a savior. Dumbledore talked about sacrifices for the Greater Good, but there comes a time when one had to look at the trail of dead and disappeared left in his wake and wonder just who was the one making the sacrifices and whether the results were good for anyone. More than anything, Percy wanted his family _safe_.

But you couldn't save those who were determined to throw themselves into the cauldron.

He still had to steel himself to ignore the looks he got just as much as he ignored the longing inside of him as the estrangement lingered on, and the bridges between them continued to burn. Would there be any hope of resolution by the end of this? Would they ever get to repeat those nights when they were a family united against the world that always had reminders of their inferiority? Would there even be anything left to salvage?


	27. Girls & Boys

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I'm a sucker for a genderqueer Sirius Black, and I say that _not a boy_ is enough to bypass the Staircase charm.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x3); Bow Before the Blacks; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [916] (Passionate); 365 [281] (Cuddle); Galleon Club (James/Lily)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Marauders; Genderqueer Sirius Black; James Potter/Lily Evans  
**Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; In the Trench; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; For the Vine; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice; Zucchini Bread; Nontraditional; Found Family; Persistence Still); Chorus (Creature Feature; Wind Beneath; A Long Dog; Unicorn; Larger than Life; Mouth of Babes; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail; Ameliorate); T3 (Terse; Toad); FR (Liberation; Satisfaction)  
**Word Count:** 502

(^^)  
**Girls & Boys**  
(^^)

It was the middle of the last frantic week before NEWTs when Lily Evans entered the common room at a full run. Just as quickly, she disappeared up the stairs to the girls' dorm. Most of the Gryffindors present just looked at each other in confusion. For all that Lily had a slight problem with her temper, she was fairly even tempered. Frank Longbottom threw his stylus down on the notebook he had been using to plan out Quidditch drills for the incoming players (since most of the team was graduating this year). Then he hurried out the door. James knew he was probably headed to fetch his girlfriend Alice Diore, who also happened to be one of Lily's best friends. The Hufflepuff was likely brewing potions with Slughorn for the Hospital Wing, as it was what she did to relax. That meant there was likely a good twenty minutes before he even got to her.

That was twenty minutes where Lily was crying by herself before help was even beginning to head towards her.

Luckily, James knew someone closer who could help.

Leaving the Quidditch stuff on the table (trusting that no one would mess with the future of the House team), James took the steps to the seventh-year boys dorm two at a time. Just to be sure that he wasn't walking in on anything, he pounded on the door three times and waited a full count of ten before opening it. Remus was still fumbling with the curtain of his bed when James entered. Sirius looked more than a bit peeved at being interrupted.

"Lils just ran in crying," James said quickly. "She went up to the girls dorm. Frank's gone to get Alice-" He was interrupted by a pillow to the face. Sirius had thrown it to get it out of the way as he sought to find his missing shirt. Shirt now on, Sirius executed a quick series of motions that had his long, curly hair pulled back into a messy bun.

"You should have led with that," Sirius scolded. James exchanged an exasperated look with Remus as Sirius ran out of the room. Then James was chasing after him, knowing that if he didn't catch Sirius before he hit the stairs to the girls dorm, he wasn't going to be able to follow any more than he would be able to follow any other girl.

"Wait, can't you, like, carry me or something?" James begged as Sirius headed up without him. Sirius shot him a grin over his shoulder.

"Sorry, Prongs," Sirius said, "but the girls dorms are for _girls only_. No boys allowed!"

"You're not a girl!" James shouted. Sirius gave him a little wave, barely more than a wiggle of the fingers.

"I'm also not a boy," Sirius quipped. "Tough day for you, Jamie. I'm going to go cuddle your girlfriend now. Ta for letting me know."

James suddenly wished for his own pillow to throw at his git of a best friend.


	28. The Last Thing

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Shout out to Gab (HecateA) for making me write this.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness D11 (Can't Lie to Soulmate) (Omegaverse); Insane House Challenge [08] (Woebegone); 365 [40] (Impulse); Galleon ("Wait here.")  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Sirius Black/Kingsley Shacklebolt  
**Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice; Middle Name; Sneeze Weasel; Persistence Still); Chorus (Wind Beneath; Unicorn; Larger than Life; Tomorrow's Shade; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade; Bee Haven; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Schooner; Sanctuary); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); T3 (Terse; Toad); FR (Evolution); O3 (Olivine)  
**Word Count:** 634

(^^)  
**The Last Thing**  
(^^)

Kingsley had a terrible feeling as he followed Mad-Eye into the darken house. There had been rumors going around that Mad-Eye had finally lost what little bit of his mind that hadn't already succumbed to rampant paranoia, but he had never really given any credence to them. The old warhorse had plenty of reason to be paranoid, after all, seeing how there actually was people who were after him. Yet Kingsley still felt a certain amount of trepidation as he followed the man into a place that didn't seem fit for gnomes to live in, let alone people, to meet a third person that Mad-Eye had refused to name and had only hinted was a criminal informant.

The inside of the house was just as woebegone as the outside had been. The wallpaper was peeling. There were cobwebs everywhere. The scent of mildew and mold tainted the air, though a dimmest trace of cooking and tea could be detected under it. Nothing else, though. Maybe (hopefully) no one was living in this doxy-infested death trap. After all, even the most beta of betas left scent markers behind when they stayed in a space for longer than a few minutes. This would be a terrible place to live.

It wasn't that great a place to meet a stranger either, but Mad-Eye had brought them here. He must have done it for a reason.

"Wait here," Mad-Eye commanded once they had reached what was either a study or a parlor. Then the retired Auror left Kingsley alone in the dark room.

Grimacing, Kingsley flicked his wand in the pseudo-spell that most magical homes had passive wards to set for. Sure enough, the lights in the room responded to the motion by turning on. It chased away the thick gloom but did nothing for the grimness. Kingsley wanted to sit down on the couch-it had already been a long day before his unit had been called out to deal with a vicious attack on a Muggle neighborhood and then Mad-Eye had insisted on this meeting despite midnight having already long passed-but he was uncertain what kind of pests might be living in it.

The last thing he needed was to bring anything back with him.

A sharp knock heralded the return of Mad-Eye, but even as Kingsley was turning, he could smell the person accompanying him. The scent of unwashed omega was thick with the beginning edge of heat, making every protective instinct in Kingsley rear up. It took far too much effort to rein in the impulse to just take the (soon to be very vulnerable) omega to a more secured location than this abandoned mansion. Laying eyes on the gaunt figure that belonged to the scent didn't help either.

It took far too long for Kingsley to recognize the fugitive he had been hunting for the last year.

Sirius Black looked nothing like his wanted posters.

"You're not a criminal informant," Kingsley said, feeling a little numb from all the things racing through his mind. Black shook his head, like he was trying to clear something from it, then he blurted out something more shocking than his mere presence was.

"I could be. I know enough crimes that were covered up."

They stared at each other as Mad-Eye watched them both. (That was creepier than it sounded, as Mad-Eye did so by focusing his real eye on Kingsley and his fake one on Black.) Magic was thick enough in the air that the hairs on Kingsley's arms rose. Testing out a theory, Kingsley thought about trying to lie to Black. Immediately, the magic shoved at him as if angry.

"Fuck me," Kingsley cursed. "We're soulmates."

"In that case, I'd love to," Black returned immediately.

So much for not bringing anything back with him.


	29. Zucchini Braids

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** If they're Helga & Salazar reincarnated as Lily & James, which is the ship being shipped?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Bow Before the Blacks; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D15] (Soulmates Reincarnate)(Fantasy); Insane House Challenge [104] (Reincarnation); 365 [104] (Waste); Galleon ("Yes, but we didn't die.")  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** James Potter/Lily Evans; Lily Evans & Sirius Black (QPR)  
**Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Caprice); FR (Liberation); SN (Rail)  
**Word Count:** 431

(^^)  
**Zucchini Braids**  
(^^)

"It's not that I don't still love him, you know," Lily explained as her fingers separated Sirius' hair into the number of strands she wanted. Sirius hummed absently. The hair brushing part of these braiding sessions always put in him in a deep state of relaxation. It did in every single life they all managed to find each other in, all the way back to the first one that they could all remember. Godric Gryffindor, by any name and in any life, loved having someone play with his hair. "It's just that, this time, he can be such a _toe-rag_."

"That hasn't been a popular saying in at least three centuries," Sirius muttered. She hissed in mild irritation. That had to be one of the most annoying thing about this whole 'soulmates reincarnate together' nonsense. She had liked some of the things that had fallen out of fashion, damn it. Why waste perfectly decent things just because they're old? Very few insults ever truly became out of date, and while more people wore shoes habitually, making toe-rags a thing of past, calling someone a toe-rag still had the implications of being annoyingly stinky. Right?

"Well, I'm bring it back," she declared with sheer stubbornness. She would, too. If Godric kept his appreciation of having his hair played with, then one thing that she always kept was her determination to see her goals through to the very end. You can take the badger out of the sett, after all, but it's still going to be a badger at the end of the day. Wearing Godric's colors did nothing to change that about her.

"Maybe if you give James a chance," Sirius murmured, "he'll be able to prove that he's still the dashing Salazar you fell in love with."

"Or I could hex him," Lily offered like it was no more than ordering takeaway for dinner, "and then refuse to speak to him until our next life."

"Well, if you're going to do that," Sirius countered, "then you might as well stab him again and get it all over with."

"That was different," she protested. Her fingers continued moving as she absently wove the strands together. "He had that coming. Both you idiots could have died with that reckless stunt you pulled!"

"Yes," Sirius acknowledged, "but we didn't die."

"Not for lack of trying." She tied off the braid. "That's you done. Now it's my turn."

"Fishtail or Dutch?"

_"French."_

"I feel I should probably remind you that actually killing James might raise a lot of questions."

"Only if they find his body."


	30. Shells on His Arm

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I totally would pass notes by writing my own arm if I knew it would go immediately to my partner's arm. Just saying.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D23] (Writing/Drawing on Skin)(Forgiveness); Insane House Challenge [33] (Heartstrings); 365 [70] (Permission); Scavenger Hunt [61] (Write a Spring themed fic.); Galleon ("Why are you hiding behind me? What did you do?")  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter; Autistic Tracey Davis; Marauders  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Most Human Bean; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Clio's Conclusion; Unwanted Advice; Middle Name; Zucchini Bread; Nontraditional; Found Family; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Schooner); O3 (Olivine); FR (Satisfaction); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); T3 (Terse; Thimble)  
**Word Count:** 534

(^^)  
**Shells on His Arm**  
(^^)

Blaise didn't even look up from his writing as Tracey darted behind his lounge chair. It wasn't the most original hiding spot. Daphne was sure to find her sooner rather than later. Especially since Daphne was sure to seek out the spot of shade at some point. The blonde tended to burn if she even thought about sunshine for too long, never mind being out in it.

"Why are you hiding behind me?" Blaise asked as he wrote another few lines before setting down his stylus to flex his wrist and fingers. "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I've done anything?" Tracey asked, clearly defensive even if he couldn't see her. "I could be totally innocent."

"True," Blaise agreed. Tracey thunked her head hard against the back of his seat in silent rebuke. Blaise sighed loudly to let her know he was disappointed in her. She thunked him again. Gallantly, he decided to not acknowledge her childish behavior and picked back up his pen to continue writing.

The tingle of a fresh mark growing on his skin made him look down at his bare forearm. Instead of a message (because they often did exchange notes that way, as it was far more convenient that sending one via owl or even texting with a mobile), his soulmate was doodling seashells on his arm. Interspersed with the shells were repetitions of the letter Z. Obviously, Harry must have become bored in his _emergency mandatory meeting_ with the Minister.

_'Good,'_ Blaise thought a bit viciously. Maybe if Kingsley saw Harry doodling on his arm, he will learn better than to make Harry come in on his days off for meetings that he probably shouldn't even be attending in the first place. Harry wasn't even a deputy head of the Magical Child Protective Services department yet, despite it having been his brain-child. Meetings with the Minister should be done by the department management, no matter what skill Harry had at tugging at heartstrings-and purse strings.

Abruptly, the doodling stopped-in mid-shell, no less. A minute passed. Then two. Blaise returned to writing. Kingsley had probably admonished Harry for not paying attention. Another tingle alerted Blaise to more writing being added. He finished the sentence he was on before turning his arm to see the spot that it had been placed on.

_On my way home. Dinner with fam tonight. Bring T & D._

It was a bit odd to bring Tracey and Daphne to one of the infamous Marauder dinners. Not because of any tensions between the sides of their family, surprisingly. More because Tracey tended to get overwhelmed easily in crowds and well, Dora and Sirius both tended to be rather overwhelming separately. Together, it was almost guaranteed. For Harry to subtly insist that they both be there, something fairly important must be about to happen.

Hours later, as Sirius sobbed in dramatic happiness as he accepted the engagement ring from Kingsley and Tracey literally screamed her own excitement, Blaise conceded that maybe Kingsley could be forgiven for making Harry come in on his day off. After all, it was only right that Harry's permission be sought from anyone wanting to marry his dogfather.


	31. Set the Bar

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Here's a short & sweet Percy/Oliver fic for y'all. With an OC kiddo to boot.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Times to Come; Tiny Terror; Old Shoes; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Wandlore (Task#3: Write about a strong bond between two people.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D07] (Timer Counting Down)(practice); Insane House Challenge [133] (BBQ); 365 [199] (Obsession); Scavenger Hunt [71] (Write about a Next-Gen OC.); Galleon (quill)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [4E] (Cookout)**  
Representation(s):** Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood  
**Bonus Challenges: **Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Bee Haven; Machismo; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** FR (Satisfaction; Gestation); HoSE (Schooner)  
**Word Count:** 679

(^^)  
**Set the Bar**  
(^^)

Percy sighed and then placed his quill in the cup waiting for it with deliberate force before resealing the lid of his inkwell. Only then did he give into the urge to stretch the tension out of his shoulders and back. Despite how Sigune was now almost old enough for Hogwarts and thus no longer prone to knocking over inkwells on the regular, old habits created when she was a toddler just refused to die. Thankfully, he was done for the day and could leave the bookshop for home.

He couldn't help the smile that settled on his face at the very thought of the word. When his timer had reached zero just as he had been run down by a maniac with a Quidditch obsession on the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in his first year, Percy had not expected to actually build a life with his soulmate. All throughout their time at Hogwarts, it had been a struggle to accept that Oliver was the one that Fate had chosen for him. They had been so different. Maybe Fate had made a mistake. It wasn't until they had reconnected after Hogwarts (and the war that had disrupted everything), that they had been able to move past those differences.

Sigune helped, even if she hadn't known it at the time. Oliver had had a fling with a teammate. It hadn't been serious, just a bit of good fun between friends. However, even the best of precautions could fail, and Tabitha had fallen pregnant. They had come to a bit of an arrangement between the two of them, which would have called for them to co-parent the child while not making the mistake of getting married just because of a pregnancy. It worked for two months after Sigune had been born. The first practice back from maternity leave, Tabitha was hit by a Bludger and knocked from her broom. She had died on impact.

Percy had run into Oliver as he was trying to make arrangements while juggling being a single parent to an infant. Having helped with his younger siblings (specifically Ginny), Percy had offered to help. Things had taken off from there, and by the time Sigune had been three, they had been officially dating rather than just living in each other's pockets for the child they both adored. By the time she was five, they had taken the increasingly insistent suggestion of Percy's mother and tied the knot.

The house was empty when Percy arrived home. It threw Percy for only a moment before he heard the sound of people in the garden. Stepping out the back door, Percy found that someone had decorated the entire space with twinkling fairy-lights in Sigune's current favorite colors (green and purple, a truly gaudy combination). Oliver had broken out their rather large grill and had it going. The smell of smoke and cooked meat made Percy's mouth water in anticipation. It had been an age and a half since they had cooked out together, just because they could.

"Papa," Sigune screeched as soon as she spotted him. Despite being nearly ten, she still ran to him for a hug as if she hadn't seen him in forever rather than that morning at breakfast. Not that he was complaining, he thought idly as he returned the embrace. All too soon, his baby girl would be a teenager and potentially learn that hugs from her parents were 'uncool'. "Dad got the good steak! And shrimp!"

Sigune had recently discovered the wonders of seafood, and now shrimp was her absolute favorite food. Strolling over to check on the food, Percy also tilted his head up to receive a kiss from his husband. In deference to the presence of their daughter, it only held the promise of more, though Percy still felt a bit breathless when he pulled back.

"Love you," Oliver whispered against his lips.

"Love you, too," Percy returned, even though the words did not fully capture the depth of what he felt. Oliver's eyes twinkled with happiness. Somehow, Percy knew Oliver understood.


	32. Checkmarks & Empty Spaces

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I have no problem with just being friends with benefits. However, it has been my experience that if those relationships are light on the friendship side of things, they get very unfulfilling very fast. However, having a friend who you also have benefits with is flecking awesome.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC (x2); In a Flash; Old Shoes; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Care of Magical Creatures (Task#2: Write about someone expressing anti-Muggle sentiments.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D08] (Spell/Potion Reveals Soulmate)(Connect); Insane House Challenge [829] (Friends with Benefits); 365 [188] (Destroy); Galleon ("Checkmarks" - The Academy Is)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Draco Malfoy  
**Bonus Challenges: **Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); FR (n/a); HoSE (Schooner)  
**Word Count:** 802

(^^)  
**Checkmarks & Empty Spaces**  
(^^)

Blaise had_ liked_ the arrangement that he had with Draco Malfoy. It was a nice one that benefited them both, no matter what Draco tried to claim when he was feeling peevish. Honestly, Blaise wasn't even how they had started sleeping together or how they had managed to not destroy each other yet. It had just been a casual thing that they did for years. It was not messy and did not mean anything. Whenever they met up, they both knew what they were going to do and they just that and did it very well. Then they went their separate ways, returning to their separate lives that did not connect in any way beyond how both of them still lived predominantly in the wizarding world.

And yet, something was missing from it all, and as Blaise was staring down the future from the other side of twenty-five, that missing something began to nag at him. He would circle the empty space in their relationship, poking and prodding like it was a sore tooth. On the surface, it appeared as if he and Draco were highly compatible. They definitely had the bedroom part of things down pat. So Blaise decided to try extending the hand of companionship to his lover.

"Why would I want to go to some Muggle place?" Draco asked snidely when Blaise suggested they visit a museum together. It had become a bit of guilty pleasure of Blaise's and of course, it was the first thing that came to mind as a way to connect with Draco outside of the bedroom. He could share his favorite pieces of art and maybe see them anew through someone else's eyes. But it appeared that Draco was having nothing of the idea. "There's bound to be Muggles all over the place, and if they created the things on exhibit, then it's bound to be rubbish. Muggles aren't capable of creating anything worthy of being called real art."

"You'd be surprised," Blaise commented drily, thinking of the van Gogh paintings displayed in the National Gallery. There was something about the Impressionist that drew Blaise in and made him feel like he was breathing for the first time every time he laid eyes on a piece. "Just try it?"

"Are you trying to be adventurous?" Draco demanded to know. "There's plenty of ways to experiment with things without involving _Muggles_."

Blaise had to clench his teeth to keep from snapping at his sort-of friends with benefits, just apparently light on the friendship part. As it was, things continued unraveling until Draco ended up slamming the door as he stormed from Blaise's flat. Seeing as nothing was going to be happening right then, Blaise decided to poke the empty feeling left behind while enjoying the works of his favorite painter.

Later that night, he decided to look back up the potion that he had found while trying to help Tracey escape her abusive childhood home. It had revealed that their mutual friend Daphne had been her soulmate. The two had bonded immediately, allowing Tracey to legally leave her father's tender care before she had reached her majority. The pair were always happy, seeming to bask in each other's presence even when they were as mad as wet cats with each other.

He would later swear that it was nothing but a haphazard accident that he had actually brewed the thing. Or maybe it was just a hazard all together, because now he had a vial of a potion that had no other use than to reveal the name of his soulmate. It was just waiting for him to decide if that was something he wanted. After all, there was no telling what was going on in his soulmate's life. They could have their own Draco Malfoy or maybe even a spouse or child.

The potion just sat innocently in its vial, as if it didn't have the power to change someone's life. Soulmates might be _made for each other_ and _stronger together_, but that didn't guarantee that magic and fate hadn't already given up on them ever meeting to form that bond. Their souls resonated before they were born, but that didn't guarantee that life and circumstances hadn't taught them lessons that made them incompatible now. Draco's attitude towards Muggle artwork was a good example of how compatibility on one level didn't mean compatibility on all levels.

He prodded the void absently, wondering if maybe his soulmate had a similar one.

Just a mouthful would give him an image and name, maybe even a location.

Just a mouthful would let him know who might be willing to be more than a casual thing, more than a means to an end or notch on a bedpost.

Blaise uncorked the vial and downed it in one shot.


	33. Team Colors

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** The original prompts gave me a choice between Audrey/Percy and Oliver/Percy. Polyamory solved the issue of having to choose.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Shipmas; Times to Come; Old Shoes; In a Flash; Lovely Triangle; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [554] ("Hot Patootie" – Rocky Horror Picture Show); 365 [122] (Enthusiastic); Galleon Club (cinnamon)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Percy Weasley/Audrey LNU/Oliver Wood  
**Bonus Challenges: **Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Lock & Key; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** LiCK (n/a); FR (Satisfaction)  
**Word Count:** 361

(^^)  
**Team Colors**  
(^^)

Audrey was jumping up and down in the stands, screaming just as loudly as any of the other Puddlemere United fans around them. Percy didn't understand how she could still be so energetic after having been here for so long already, especially since she had put in a full day chasing new recruits around the obstacle course at the Auror Academy before they had headed out to the game. Oh, he knew that part of it was that Audrey was just as mad about quidditch as Oliver was, and that another chunk was letting the enthusiastic energy of the crowd feed into her, but Percy was not like his partners, no matter how much he loved them.

A roaring crowd late on a Saturday night was not really his idea of a good time. He didn't appreciate the yelling and having cheap larger slashed on him. He would much rather be at home, listening to music as he read or snuggled up with Audrey and Oliver watching the telly. Even the silly 'reality' shows they both adored were more what Percy enjoyed than a live Quidditch game. Especially if Audrey made her family's recipe for khinkali, which had the dumplings baked instead of boiled making them a good finger food, which made the perfect excuse to like the fingers for the partner sharing the treat.

Though Percy had to admit that the view from where he was sitting was rather nice, because Audrey had a nice bounce to her full-figure curves and looked exceptionally nice with the cinnamon colored ribbon she had opted to tie around her neck, and Oliver had demonstrated more than a few feats of outstanding flexibility this game. Percy was a blessed man to have both of them as partners, and he ached to show them his appreciation more directly.

It all combined to make Percy wish for someone to catch the Snitch already so that he could finally get his partners alone and spend their Saturday in a mutually pleasurably way. And by "someone", he meant that the Puddlemere United Seeker should stop dragging his broom twigs and get on with it already.

After all, Oliver belonged to Puddlemere United, and Percy was nothing but supportive of his quidditch-obsessed loons.

And if he was really lucky, within the next hour, he'd be showing them both what he had recently purchased in the Puddlemere United team colors.


	34. Darling, Only You

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** The saddest part of any Lily Lives AU is how the Marauders deal with the grief of losing two of their members (one to death; another to betrayal). Here's a little look into how that might be. Also, yes, that is a hint of Sirius being a platonic soulmate to both Lily and James. You can pry my QPR headcanon out of my cold, dead hands.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Travel & Tourism (Task#2: Write about a group of people.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D25] (Take Away Soulmate's Pain)(Angst);Insane House Challenge [999] (She remembered easier days...); 365 [141] (Knowledge); Galleon (tea)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** James Potter/Lily Evans; Marauders  
**Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Keen); FR (Liberation)  
**Word Count:** 789

(^^)  
**Darling, Only You**  
(^^)

She remembered easier days, when her life didn't seem ready to just fall to pieces around her. Lily honestly didn't know how she was coping, only that it was necessary. She didn't have the option of just giving up, of drowning in the pit that where James used to be. She had Harry to think about, after all. She had a terrible feeling, given how things had spiraled after the Dark Lord had attacked the cottage at Godric's Hollow, that if she were to do so, that Harry would not end up with Sirius and Remus as she and James had wanted, or even with Alice and Frank as had been their second choice. He might end up with someone like her sister Petunia. Hel's Bells, with how Dumbledore was insistent that Severus Snape not face any consequences for his involvement with the Death Eaters, Harry might have even been placed there!

Lily let the shudder wrack her body at the very thought. It was a struggle not to let it turn into a sob. The empty spot where James used to be _ached_ like she had lost an actual limb. And this time, James wasn't there to take some of the pain away, to share the burden of it as soulmates were meant to do. She would have given anything, short of Harry, to have her fluff-headed toe-rag back. His death was _stupid_ and _wasteful_ and so bloody _heroic_ that she just didn't know how to feel about it.

She wanted to go back to the days before Peter betrayed them, the days before she had learn how to live without her soulmate. She wanted the days when looking at Harry, who was practically his father in miniature, didn't feel like a stab to the heart. She didn't want her son to grow up without his father. She didn't want to watch as Sirius turned to say something to James, the half-cocky smirk he always wore when they exchanged their jokes on his lips, only to realize a second too late that the space was empty and then his face crumpled under the knowledge that James was gone. Remus seemed to be holding it all together better, but then he was used to covering up how he was feeling lest someone discover his lycanthropy.

Her family was in pain, and she didn't know what to do.

"It's like that sometimes," Remus was saying as she approached their kitchen. As a means of comfort, the last remnants of the Marauders had all moved into the cottage James had built at the edge of the Potter family seat Ashnook. Life was easier when they were together, and none of them relished the thought of being alone with their grief. Lily peeked around the edge of the door frame. Remus was feeding Harry his breakfast and talking like Harry could understand it all just like he always did. "People are funny when it comes to hurting, probably would be even without being able to share it with soulmates. Your Mum and Paddy is just being hit more by it right now, because they're so used to having your Daddy around to balance everything. They're strong, though, and they're going to get better. It's just going to take time, cub."

"MOON," Harry yelled as he grabbed at the spoon that Remus had been using to feed him. He shoved it into his mouth, immediately moving it to the side where he actually had a pair of teeth. Remus chuckled a bit.

"Yes," Remus agreed as if Harry had said something profound. He let the toddler take the spoon while he reached for his own cup of tea that had been waiting well out of reach of small hands. "We just got to love them through it and ease what patches we can."

"You do," Lily announced, her voice thick with tears. Both of the room's occupants looked up at her. Her heart swelled with emotions at the sight of those bright eyes focusing on her. "You both do, so very much."

"MUM," Harry yelled, reaching for her and dropping the spoon in the process. "Mum, mum, mum!"

Lily swept the squirming child into her arms, heedless of the mess. This wasn't the life she had planned to have when she had finally accepted that James was her soulmate, but she wouldn't give up her spot in the Marauders for anything. She would get through this. They all would. Losing two of their group would always hurt, but maybe together, they could share the ache. As if hearing the thought, Remus took them both in his own arms and pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads.

It was already a bit easier.


	35. Left Behind

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Okay. Who doesn't think of killing one of the soulmates when given the Last Words AU? At least at first, because I know of at least one that is going to be disowning their soulmate. (Don't know the name yet, but HecateA is writing it and it's going to be Hope/Lyall. Keep an eye out for it!)

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Public Services (Task#3: Write about a risk to life.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Pinata [Easy] (Gryffindor); Romance Awareness [D27] (Last Words)("I can't believe you left me behind!"); Insane House Challenge [652] (Albert Einstein quotation); 365 [131] (Handsome); Galleon (bubblegum pink)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks; Lupin-Tonks  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Unicorn; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail); HoSE (Keen); FR (Gestation)  
**Word Count:** 497

(^^)  
**Left Behind**  
(^^)

No one really paid attention to the words. Who cared who your soulmate was when you only found out when you lost them? So, everyone had the words, but no one really cared about them. Tonks had met a few people who had met their soulmates. Being in law enforcement, particularly the combat heavy Auror Corps, meant that there's always a chance of any given mission being your last. Learning that your spouse or romantic partner had been your soulmate because of a mission gone wrong had to be the greatest hit against Corps morale. That was even including the war that was going on.

So Tonks didn't let the idea of a soulmate prevent her from pursuing a relationship with Remus Lupin, werewolf and a surviving former professor in the most cursed position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oh, and all-around handsome fellow. Not only had she pursued said relationship, but she had gotten so much more than she had even hoped for: a family. Remus had graciously accepted her proposal and then agreed to elope with her.

And even that happiness paled in comparison to holding Teddy for the first time.

Then the baby had changed the tawny gold of his hair to match the bright blue that she had been wearing right then, and she felt like she could just combust with love.

Even with the war, life was good.

Until she came back downstairs from putting her week-old son to bed to discover that her husband left to go to Hogwarts because it was finally time to make their move to liberate the school.

And he had left without her.

Her mother had just rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture towards the fireplace, already knowing what her daughter would do. She gave her mother a quick kiss to the cheek and left, already shortening her bubblegum pink hair to something that wouldn't interfere with fighting. The first thing she did when she slid into the Room of Requirement was look for her wayward husband. He looked just as surprised to see her there as he had to find out that she was pregnant.

"I can't believe you left me behind!" She bumped shoulders with him. "We're in this together, you jerk, but you can't keep running off!"

"Teddy—"

"—would never forgive me if I didn't do what was right," Tonks interrupted, "and that includes doing my damnest to make sure we both get to the other side of this, husband mine."

"I love you, Nymphadora 'Don't-call-me-that' Tonks," Remus declared as the fighting began in earnest again. "Don't you ever forget that."

"Not even under a Memory Charm."

Their eyes met, knowing in a way that felt like prophecy.

Then they were moving away from each other to fight those who would practice genocide, all in the hope that their son would have a better world at the end of it all, even if he wouldn't have parents.


	36. When Ruby Met Scorpius

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Shout out to Gab (HecateA) of Ravenclaw for letting me use her OC Ruby. Anyway, here's some adorable firebug and wandmaker Harry Potter. Oh, and it's explained in the fic, but _auncle_ is not a typo.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x3); Slytherin MC; Times to Come; Old Shoes; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Wandlore (Task#5: Write about any of the known masters of the Elder Wand.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Pinata [Easy] (Gryffindor); Romance Awareness [D26] (Stop Aging Until Meeting Soulmate)(waving at a friend); Insane House Challenge [485] (Ollivander's Fine Wands); 365 [79] (Incredible); Scavenger Hunt [79] (Write about another forum member's OC.); Galleon (Scorpius Malfoy)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Dean Thomas/Seamus Finnegan; Ruby Finnegan-Thomas; Genderqueer Harry Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Surprise!; Grease Monkey; Lyre Liar; Muck & Slime; Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice; Zucchini Bread; Nontraditional; Found Family; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Unicorn; Larger than Life; Eternal Boredom; Tomorrow's Shade; Mouth of Babes; Peddling Pots; Wabi Sabi; Pear-Shaped)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail); FR (Satisfaction; Gestation); O3 (Olivine); HoSE (Caprice)  
**Word Count:** 883

(^^)  
**How Ruby Met Scorpius**  
(^^)

The bell over the door rang out happily as Ruby Finnegan-Thomas shoved it open on her rush into Ollivander's Fine Wands. She skidded to a stop immediately, narrowly avoiding running into a poshly dressed wizard who standing (**rudely!**) in the entrance way. Making a face, she darted around the blond man, intent on tackling her favorite wandmaker into a hug.

Auncle Harry barely looked up from helping his child customer in time to brace for the impact. Auncle Harry accepted the hug, but she felt him let go to wave at her parents. Daddy and Da had gone to school with Auncle Harry and had even been in the same year! Her parents looked a lot older, though, because they were soulmates and had _kept_ aging, but Auncle Harry had never met his soulmate, so he stayed young. As she pulled back from hugging her auncle, she tugged on the end of Harry's braid just like she always did.

He returned the gesture by tugging on one of hers. The motion knocked the beaded end of it against the similarly beaded ends of her other braids. She had Da charm the beads purple that morning before they left the flat. Auncle Harry _loved_ purple, even if he rarely said talked about preferences like that. Based on conversations that she was probably not meant to overhear, Ruby suspected that Auncle Harry had lived with some _Not Nice_ people as a kid.

If she ever met them, Ruby was going to do her best to set them on fire, as they deserved.

"Potter, can we get on with the fitting?" the posh wizard asked with a commanding bite in his tone. Auncle Harry rolled his green eyes (like hers!) at him but released her completely this time. He gave her parents another wave that had everyone shuffling a bit until Daddy and Da could reach the little sitting area that was near the counter. Ruby didn't make any move to join them, though, because the Rude Man needed to be glared at, lest he continue talking to Auncle Harry like this.

"We're almost done anyway, Malfoy," Harry said in the tone he tended to use when he was struggling to be polite. He usually only had to use it when talking to reporters or the really strange fans who sometimes followed him around.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at the man as she evaluated how easy it would be to set him on fire. Daddy was fairly insistent that she couldn't just set anyone who bothered her auncle, but Da always took her out for ice cream after _an incident_, so really, it was a toss-up. This guy looked particularly flammable with how much styling potion he had in his hair. As if sensing her frankly _incredible_ plan, Harry tugged on one of her braids again to gain her attention and gave her a sharp shake of his head before gently nudging her towards the sitting area.

"Well, young Malfoy," Auncle Harry told the kid being fitted, "if you will lift the wand from the box, we'll see if we've found you a companion or if we need to keep looking."

"What's this one made of?" Malfoy asked as the younger Malfoy did as Auncle Harry had suggested. Before her auncle could answer, there was surge of magic and bunch of purple and blue sparks shooting off of the kid. Ruby took a step closer in fascination. Sparks were a really rare display for first connection according to Auncle Harry, even if he was confident that she was going to be one of those cases. She just knew that she had to be friends with this kid, even if his father seemed like a git. "Well, I suppose that it doesn't matter since Scorpius has matched with it. How much will it be, Mr. Potter?"

"Auncle Harry _prefers_ Mx. Potter," Ruby corrected immediately. Malfoy the Flammable blocked her from seeing them, but she could still hear her parents. Daddy groaned for some reason, and Da chuckled, likely for the same unknown reason. Malfoy looked like he didn't understand what she had just said, just like everyone in the family did when Aunt Fleur got too upset to remember to speak English or speak slow enough that people could translate. The other kid—Scorpius—looked like she had just revealed a breeding pair of Crumpled Horn Snorlacks in front of him. She crossed her arms, ready to defend her favorite family member (other than her parents, of course). "You should respect people!"

"Ruby, sweetheart," Harry said, sounding like he was trying not to chuckle just like Da, "he didn't know."

"Oh," she commented even as she felt her face heat up. "Then I shouldn't have said that, huh?"

"What's an _auncle_?" Scorpius asked, still looking like he was discovering something that would change the world. Ruby scrunched her nose as she thought of how to phrase it. Auncle Harry rested his hand on top of her head but let her take the lead in answering the question.

"It's like _aunt_ and _uncle_," Ruby explained, "but for people who aren't aunts or uncles. Auncle Harry is _both_ but also _neither_."

"That's an _option_?!" Scorpius screeched in shocked delight.

Ruby grinned at the question. She was definitely keeping him.


	37. He Will Be Loved

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So…werewolves are creatures, and I'm gonna say that the wolf part makes up for the human part, making them creatures with high intelligence. (Don't mind me. People make me tired occasionally.)

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Golden Times; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Old Shoes; In a Flash (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Magical Law & Government (Task#4: Write about a creature of high intelligence.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane House Challenge [163] (Memories); 365 [215] (Paradise); Scavenger Hunt [74] (Write a fic from a creature or animal's PoV); Galleon (mittens)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [2E] (Hike)**  
Representation(s):** Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks; Starting a Family  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Surprise!; Grease Monkey; Most Human Bean; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Odd Feathers; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail)  
**Word Count:** 564

(^^)  
**He Will Be Loved**  
(^^)

Remus watched as his pregnant wife navigated the snowy paradise around them. She was wearing a pair of thick woolen mittens that contrasted nicely with the dark goldenrod and black of her winter cloak. They were a rich burgundy, and he was fairly certain that she had stolen them from his jacket. They were definitely too big for her hands as they kept slipping. It made the wolf in him growl with possessive happiness to see his mate wearing something of his, even if it was such a minor thing.

It was slow going, relearning to accept the wolf within. He had never really been comfortable with him, after growing up with his father's aside comments about werewolves being monsters. Oh, Lyall Lupin had never said anything directly to him along those lines, but he had plenty to say when he had thought that his son hadn't been listening. After the Marauders had discovered Remus' _furry little secret_, things had gotten better until the setback in fifth year when Sirius had his spectacularly stupid idea to tell Snape about the Whomping Willow. Then Lily had swept in like an avenging angel which had the dual effect of Sirius groveling like the dog he sometimes was while also looking at Lily with a worshipful expression best matched by James' own. Things had been improving steadily those last few years.

Then in a single night, the pack he had grown used to having around him for comfort and safety had been destroyed. Lily and James had been killed, and their cub disappeared like fog at sunrise. Sirius had been sent to Azkaban, for the crime of betraying Lily and James (which had been a real blow, because everything in Remus had screamed that Sirius _would never do that_) and killing Peter. The grief had damn near killed Remus, and like a coward, he had run from anything resembling the life he had had. Only Dumbledore's summons had brought him back, even if it was Harry for whom Remus had stayed.

That's how he met Dora. She had been annoyingly insistent on pursuing him, filled with pure Hufflepuff determination to show him that he was more than a broken down, old werewolf. She hadn't accepted his self-sacrificing protestations or recriminating deflections. And now here they were, married and expecting their first child.

Dora froze in mid-step and pressed one of her mitten-covered hands to her baby bump. Remus immediately made his way to her side, every instinct ready to defend his mate. The moment he was in reach, she grabbed one of his hands and pressed it to her stomach. There was a tense moment of stillness. Then something pressed out from within Dora.

"Is that—?" Remus asked in awe.

"Uh-huh," Dora agreed, flushing with pleasure to the tips of her hair. The burgundy was nearly as a match for the stolen mittens. The baby retreated a bit before stretching out hard enough to make Dora grunt. "They're certainly being active today! Maybe they like the snow?"

"Yeah," Remus agreed. He wasn't going to mention that he was a bit restless, too, because the full moon was less than a week away and that was just how it went. If Dora wanted to ignore the possibility of the baby being a werewolf, then he could, too. Either way, the cub was going to be so loved.


	38. When the Dog Got Home

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I missed Fred & Murder.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; In a Flash; Old Shoes; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Care of Magical Creatures (Task#1: Write about a faithful companion.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** R Romance Awareness [D28] (Soulmate's Touch Accelerates Healing)(Taylor Swift "Delicate"); Insane House Challenge [10] (Moonstruck); 365 [290] (Collarbone); Galleon (dandelion)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Remus Lupin/Sirius Black; Fred the Goat  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; Grease Monkey; Second Verse (Found Family; Nontraditional; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts) Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Satisfaction)  
**Word Count: **525

(^^)  
**When the Dog Got Home**  
(^^)

Sirius found him within a week of them both leaving Hogwarts. It had been difficult to keep functioning for as long as it had taken for Remus to wrap up the things necessary for the end of the term. Azkaban had sapped a lot of his health and for the past year, he had only been running on his obsession with getting revenge against Peter. Now that Harry had broken him out of that obsession, it was hard to keep the momentum he had built up with it. Luckily, Sirius knew exactly where Remus was going to go, because of course, Remus would go to their cottage to brood.

Unfortunately, Sirius could remember that Remus would go to the cottage after he left Hogwarts, but not really where the cottage was. Azkaban had caused a lot of his mental issues to worsen like the dementors tended to wither plants and spoil food with their very presence. Thus it took so long to remember where his home was, let alone summon the energy to get there. He had gotten lost a few times, too.

But he had stepped into the garden eventually. The sense of familiarity had made his head swim. Which was why he didn't see the goat charging him until she had butted his gut, knocking him off his feet. Then she proceeded to stand over him and yell at his face like a nagging wife whose husband had been at the pub too long. Sirius blinked away the stars dancing in his vision.

"Fred?" he asked in shock. "Is that really you?"

"Yep," Remus said from the door of the cottage. "She's getting on in years, but that's still her yelling at you."

"You kept her," Sirius said. He suddenly felt like crying, and not just because Fred had settled her not-inconsiderable bulk on his chest as if determined to keep him from running off again. Remus crossed the front garden to shove at the stubborn doe until she got off of him. Then Remus helped him to his feet.

"Of course, I kept our kid," Remus commented drily. He ran his hands over the bare skin revealed by Sirius' baggy shirt. Sirius shivered as Remus' fingers brushed over his prominent collarbone and the first rush of healing energy transferred between them. "I also kept Lily's villainous beast, but Murder passed away a few months before you escaped Azkaban. Fred gave me the same kind of welcoming, by the way. She's gotten cranky in her old age." Remus glared down at the unrepentant goat. "Maybe it's finally time to turn you into stew."

Fred didn't even bother making a noise, simply marching over to a nearby dandelion and biting the blossom off particularly violently. All the while, she maintained eye contact with Remus, as if to imply a threat of doing the same to him. Remus responded with great maturity: he stuck his tongue out at her.

"You never change," Sirius said, moonstruck all over again about his soulmate.

"And you love me anyway," Remus replied with a gentle smile.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, feeling like he was going to cry again, "I do."


	39. Dance of Minds

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** I literally am only writing this to cross off an item on a challenge list. But shout out to Blue Rose (spittingllama7856) for suggesting the ship for Shipping War.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC (x2); Old Shoes; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Wandlore (Task#4: Write a fic set in the Riddle Era.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D18] (Shared Mind Space)(The Beatles "Imagine"); Insane House Challenge [548] ("Imagine" - John Lennon); 365 [83] (Comfortable); Scavenger Hunt [69] (Write a Riddle Era fic.); Galleon (Dancing)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Tom M. Riddle/Abraxas Malfoy  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Tomorrow's Shade; Bandstand; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); SN (Rail; Spare)  
**Word Count:** 524

(^^)  
**Dance of Minds**  
(^^)

"What would you do, Abraxas," Tom asked one day in late spring, "if you knew there would be no consequences?"

"There are always consequences," Abraxas drawled without opening his eyes. They were laying out on the front lawn of Hogwarts on a blanket stolen from one of the first-year's beds. There had been so precious few days where it would comfortable to do this, even as close to the end of May as they were. It was nice to just enjoy the sun without having to worry about anything really serious. Even that silly Muggle war in Europe was finally over, as their leader hadn't lasted long without Grindelwald's support.

"But what if there wasn't?" Tom insisted. With the mental force that he always seemed to have in spades, he pulled Abraxas into their shared mind space. The sensation was not unlike being forcefully Apparated.

Abraxas shuddered in reflexive revulsion. Being that close to the other boy—young man, really, since they were both of age in the wizarding world even if they were still at Hogwarts—felt too intimate to Abraxas. Mind spaces were supposed to be for soulmates only, but there was no way that he could be soulmates with another boy! It wasn't right. It especially wasn't right with this particular boy, as Tom was more than a bit monstrous and prone to fits of rage. Even if he were bent, he wouldn't choose Tom. That way would lead only to madness and possibly an antagonizing death.

"Imagine it, Abraxas," Tom commanded. "Imagine a world where we could do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. A world where no one could tell us what to do! A world that would accept us as we are!"

"And what are we, Tom?"

Tom's eyes flashed red at the challenge. Yet instead of giving into a fit of rage, Tom simply held out a hand. From all around them, a slow song began playing. Abraxas felt his eyes widen as he realized what Tom was asking him to do. Despite everything they had done together, all the dark magic that they had shared, to do something as innocent as dancing seemed impossible.

"Dance with me," Tom said, and while the words were phrased like an order, the tone he used was uncharacteristically beseeching. That more than anything else quelled the fears raising inside of him. He took Tom's hand.

"I do quite like this song," Abraxas commented, hoping to cover up his nerves. It felt odd being the one led instead of the one doing the leading, but honestly, he couldn't imagine it any other way. It was _right_ that Tom was leading their dance, as he did everything else.

"Imagine being able to do this outside of this realm," Tom whispered into his ear like it was a romantic promise. "Imagine what it would be like if we could."

"I don't think the world is ready for such things," Abraxas whispered back. "I don't think it ever will be."

"Then we will just need to cure them of their outdated ideals." Tom's tongue flicked snake-like against his ear. "By force if need be."


	40. Without Words

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Traditions are the key to maintaining order in any society. Why would the wizarding community be any different?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Ravenclaw MC; Gryffindor MC; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time (Y); Letter of the Day; Two Cakes!; Feeling So Logical [Respectable]; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Public Services (Task#1: Write about maintaining order in the wizarding community.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D16] (First Words)(Katy Perry "Roar"); Insane House Challenge [109] (Language Barrier); 365 [178] (Heritage); Galleon (Padma Patil)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Padma Patil/Harry Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail); FR (Evolution; Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine)  
**Word Count:** 780

(^^)  
**Without Words**  
(^^)

"Don't you think this is a bit..." Padma pursed her lips as she thought of how to phrase it so that it didn't upset her mother Rajani. "_Traditional_?"

"Is there something wrong with tradition?" Rajani demanded immediately. She stuck her head out of Padma's closet to eye her closely. "Are you ashamed of your heritage now?"

"No, of course not," she denied just as immediately.

Padma shrugged, unable to articulate what was bothering her exactly. It wasn't like she had never expected that her parents would try something like this eventually. It really was traditional for parents to set up dates at the very least for their children, in the hopes that they would exchange matching first words. She supposed that she was just hoping that she could skip all of that, since she hadn't gotten a set of words for her soulmate to say in order to reveal that they were a match.

"Good, because I have arranged for your date to take place at Uncle Ila's restaurant." Rajani grinned in the same satisfied way she had when she had when Parvati had finally fessed up about Lavender being her match. That alone was enough to make Padma suspicious. Had her mother discovered another person without a soulmark? Surely, if they didn't hit it off, her mother would not insist on her marrying whoever this was? "The menu as already been decided. You are having the house specialty."

"Oh, great," she said not the least bit enthused. Was there anything more boring than going on a date and eating _curry_, which she could eat any time as it was one of the first dishes she learned to make? She didn't like this guy already, even if her mother seemed to love him. She still didn't fight her mother dressing her in a midnight blue shalwar kameez with phoenixes embroidered up the side in varying shades of purple and magenta. Then Rajani brought out her own jewelry box for a few finishing touches such as a nose ring and earrings.

"It will do you well to look your best, _biti_," Rajani told her as Padma placed the jewelry. "You will thank me later."

She was still not expecting to see Harry Potter sitting at the table where she was supposed to meet her date. Like her, he had taken care to dress in formal Hindu dress. Unlike her, however, he looked uncomfortable in it, lacking the instinctual awareness of how to move so that his dhoti stayed as it was place. He still looked shockingly good in proper clothing. She had always wondered why he never wore it at Hogwarts, not even during casual settings. The Potters had always practiced traditional dressing. Intrigued now, she approached the table.

She had no sooner sat down than Uncle Ila herself carried over their meal. Harry licked his lips nervously after giving a little wave of greeting. Padma returned the wave, already wondering how they were supposed to communicate. Everyone knew that Harry Potter couldn't say a single word, and while Padma knew sign, it was Indian sign language while Harry only knew British Sign Language. This was going to a very long night if they were going to need to write everything out.

Then Harry began to slowly and carefully sign in the language she knew. Before she had really noticed, they had skipped right over any awkwardness that might have existed. It felt like it always had to be around Harry: like she was stronger and simply _better_ than she would ever be alone. Her mother was right. This _was_ a date she wanted to remember looking nice for.

"I have to thank my mother for convincing you to come," Padma signed towards the end of the night. "How did she manage it, anyway?" Harry raised his hands to reply only to lower them immediately. "What's wrong? Oh, gods, did she blackmail you somehow?"

Harry frantically shook his head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he pushed up the fabric covering his left forearm. In her own familiar handwriting, she read the very simple words _over in the Fungi section._ She flushed at the implication. It wasn't the worse first words she had seen, but it wasn't very fancy or distinctive. Then her Ravenclaw intelligence finally kicked in as she realized what all those knowing looks from her mother had meant.

Her mother had _known_ about Harry having the first words she had ever said to him on his body.

Padma had been the last to know that she had a soulmate at all.

At least she now knew why she didn't have a set of words.


	41. The Shade of Flames

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** This is the No Powers Soulmate AU no one asked for, where Lily is a model, James is a firefighter, and Severus is an annoying incel in the café Lily frequents. Oh, and before anyone complains, _yes_, things like this happen all the flipping time. Why don't fem-bodied people smile more? It's the risk of some guy thinking that we're smiling for him specifically.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Old Shoes; Café Life; Two Cakes!; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Feeling So Logical [Intellectual]; Short Jog  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Public Services (Task#2: Write about putting out a fire (figurative or literally)./ALT: Write a Firefighter AU.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D29] (Shadow is Your Soulmate)("Stay the hell away from me!"); Insane House Challenge [38] (Callipygian); 365 [174] (Bauble); Scavenger Hunt [83] (Write a crack pairing.); Galleon (Model AU)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [4C] (Hail)**  
Representation(s):** James Potter/Lily Evans; Severus Snape/Bathsheba Bagshot (sort of)  
**Bonus Challenges: **Muck & Slime; Rock of Ages; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Unicorn; Larger than Life)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Oust)  
**Word Count:** 1088

(^^)  
**The Shade of Flames**  
(^^)

The thunder was so loud that the windows of the cafe shook. Rain lashed at the windows with a few pieces of hail thrown in for good measure. The patrons of the cafe would occasionally look out the front window worryingly, but the storm showed no sign of letting up any time soon. It suited Severus' mood perfectly. He didn't like how popular the place had gotten since a popular model had started coming in on a regular basis. They were just hoping to see her, which was annoying as much as it matched his own desires.

Who could blame him? Lily Evans was the sort of beautiful that Shakespeare wrote sonnets about. Every freckled curve was perfection. She was callipygan to the point of tempting saints. When she spoke, her voice was like a choir of angels signing. She was everything that he looked for in a woman. What was more important, and very telling in his opinion, was that since she had started modeling, his shadow had been doing model-like things.

Severus checked the door again, anxious to see the woman he just knew was meant to be _his_. He just had to wait for the perfect time to reveal that fact to her. Maybe today would be the day. He was already wearing his best black suit, having had an interview earlier for a potential teaching position. He didn't want to teach per se but it would help pay his bills until he could find a publisher for his book.

The chain of bells on the handle of the door sounded as it opened to let in the very object of his thoughts along with the old woman who usually accompanied her. They had roughly the same build, but Lily Evans was clearly his age while the other woman had to be something like two hundred. She just looked so old, even if her face was still without more than a few crow's feet. They ordered as they usually did, but then they split up instead of heading to their usual table.

In fact, Lily was headed his way! He wasn't ready! He hadn't decided what line would be perfect yet! She couldn't do this to him!

Then at the last moment, the redhead moved closer to the table next to him.

"James, I'm so glad that you could make it," she greeted the Indian man sitting there. "I thought for sure that your station would have kept you too busy to come!"

"Nah, once they heard that I was supposed to meet up with my soulmate they practically shoved me out the door." James gave her a lopsided grin. "Sirius threatened to set me on fire himself if I chickened out!"

"Do firefighters joke about setting people on fire a lot?" Lily asked as she took a sip of her drink. Severus could smell the distinctive scent of pumpkin spice. He squeezed his hands around either end of his biro as he listened to his soulmate flirt with another man. This James (what a horribly common name!) even had the nerve to call her _his_ soulmate, when that couldn't be further from the truth! She was his! He saw her first!

"That's it," Severus declared as he stood up so abruptly that his chair crashed to the group, startling the other patrons as much as the storm outside did. "I cannot stand for this any longer!" He pointed a finger accusingly at James the firefighter (if he really was one and wasn't just saying that to impress people!). "You will stay away from my soulmate! How dare you try to steal her away from me!"

"Uh, dude," James said carefully, like he was talking to a frightened animal, "maybe we just need to take a deep breath and talk about this a bit. Lily, do you know this man at all?"

"No," Lily said. She looked a bit shook up as if she was surprised by his outburst but also as if she resigned to it. "I don't think I've ever seen him before either."

"You handed me the creamer just yesterday," Severus reminded her, making her perfect forehead furrow as if she was having difficulty remembering. "Oh, and _you're my soulmate_."

"You keep saying that, dude," James interrupted, drawing Severus' focus back to him, "but what evidence do you have of that?" He picked up Lily's hand and held it so that her shadow was clear and distinctive on the table top. "Can you make her shadow change?"

Severus rolled his eyes at the childish demand and flipped him the bird, just to prove a point. There was just one problem with the results. Lily's shadow didn't change at all. Getting a little desperate now, Severus did the same with his other hand. Lily's shadow still didn't change. Meeting Severus' eyes, James then returned the gesture.

Lily let out a breath that sounded almost _relieved _when her shadow immediately changed.

"That doesn't prove anything," Severus declared. "She's still mine! I saw her first!"

"That's not how relationships work, dude," James said as gently as possible. "She isn't a bauble that can be fought over. You can't just claim a person because they're beautiful and witty and accidentally set their green room on fire."

"I will never live down the reason that we first met, will I?" Lily asked with an exasperated tone. James grinned at her unrepentantly.

"I believe Sirius is planning to put it in his best mate speech, so probably not."

"You can't marry him!" Severus yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "You're _my_ soulmate!"

"Pretty sure that we just proved that she isn't, dude."

"Can we just leave, James?" Lily asked. James immediately stood, clearly agreeing that they should leave. Severus made to grab her arm as she went to walk away. She jerked out of reach, accidentally spilling her latte down her front. The scent of pumpkin spice exploded in the air between them. "Stay the hell away from me!"

Then they were both across the cafe and out into the storm, not even stopping to open an umbrella. There was a moment of silence before Severus felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw the old woman who had come in with Lily.

"My name is Bathsheba Bagshot," she said, clearly embarrassed but not letting that stop her at all, "and I think...well, it would be a hell of a coincidence if it's not true, but I think we may be soulmates?"

Severus fainted in shock.


	42. Dragon & Lily

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** When bi/pan women and bi/pan men date each other, they are still bi/pan. This is a hill worth dying on, because it's true.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; Old Shoes; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!; Feeling So Logical [Liberal]; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.): **n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D20] (Growing Soulmarks)("You make me so mad sometimes."); Insane House Challenge [259] ("I know I'm like, your least favorite person in the universe right now, but I love you."; 365 [193] (Fabric); Galleon (Aquamenti)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Sirius Black/Lily Evans; Genderfluid Sirius Black  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Head of Perseus; Grease Monkey; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction)  
**Word Count:** 505

(^^)  
**Dragon & Ivy**  
(^^)

"What do you think of this one, Black?" Lily said as she exited the changing room to show off her newest selection. The deep blue-green of the bikini brought out the green of her eyes, but what she really liked was how the cut showed off the majority of her soul mark, despite how the dragon was now so big that it took up most of her back. The deep green of the dragon's scales looked almost black against her pale skin. Her soulmate gave a low whistle of appreciation.

"That bikini is great, Evans," Sirius replied with a lewd grin, "but don't you think that's more my color?"

She frowned disapprovingly at him, even though she knew that he was teasing. This was a game they often played. If you really wanted to call it a game at all, because with both of them sharing a color palette and Sirius' genderfluidity, they did tend to share outfits. Thank god for magic and resizing charms or all her clothes would be stretched out by now!

"I don't think you have the chest to pull this off, sweetie," she replied. She twisted to examine her reflection from a different angle. "I just think my ass is too much in this."

"But it is such a nice ass!"

"That does not mean that I want everyone staring at it!" Lily turned to face him fully. The ivy of his own soulmark shifted along his neck and clavicle as if moving in a breeze. She stepped closer, making his breath hitch, and shifted the fabric of his shirt to reveal just a bit more. He settled his hands on the bare skin of her waist.

"I promise not to stand next to you, if that helps."

"How is that supposed to help?" she asked as she leaned in to kiss one of the leaves of his soulmark. Seeing it flourishing like it had now made her so happy. When they had first gotten together, it had been nothing more than a withered seedling. Most soulmarks started out as young versions of themselves, ready to grow with a relationship with a soulmate, but she had never heard of one looking so close to death. It had taken a lot of work to nurture the tiny seedling into the thriving vine it was now.

"People won't compare our asses that way," Sirius teased. In retaliation, she pulled back cast a wandless and nonverbal _aquamenti_ at his shirt. He pouted at her and shook his finger at her in reproach. "You make me so mad sometimes."

"I do?" she asked innocently. She kissed his soulmark again, relishing in how he allowed it despite what he had just said. "Well, I know I'm, like, your least favorite person in the universe right now, but I love you."

"That's because I'm so damn lovable."

"Damn straight," Lily agreed. Sirius grinned at her.

"Haven't you heard?" His grin was particularly toothy. "_Nothing_ about me is _straight_."

"Really?" she asked in mock surprise. "Me, too!"


	43. Canine Ideals

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Tradition for tradition's sake is outdated, even if traditions are the backbone of society.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x3); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Magical Law & Government (Task#8: Write about outdated ideals.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane House Challenge [269] ("That's what he taught me."); 365 [20] (Require); Galleon (chocolate frogs)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Lily/James; Lily/James/Sirius QPR  
**Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; In the Trench; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); T3 (Terse); FR (Satisfaction; Liberation)  
**Word Count:** 631

(^^)  
**Canine Ideals**  
(^^)

James started with a hair ribbon. Sirius suggested the hair ribbon, actually. Tradition would require that he only give her a hair comb or hair stick. When James had confessed to wanting to court Lily, Sirius had been the first person that he had told, and not just because Sirius was his best friend. Sirius was also one of Lily's best friends. His insights were going to be vital for success.

And if Sirius' ideas weren't exactly aligned with James' parents' ideas? Well, sometimes even the best of traditions became outdated.

So James started with a hair ribbon—emerald green, to match her eyes. The ribbon had its edges hemmed in gold thread. Lily had smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. It quickly became a staple part of her wardrobe, despite the teasing she got from the other Gryffindor girls for wearing something so close to Slytherin green. Lily was not the type to let something like a simple school rivalry stop her from wearing his courting gift. It was their seventh year, after all, and she was looking to the future.

The second gift was supposed to be flowers. His mother had suggested roses, as traditional among the English. His father had suggested jasmine or hibiscus as traditional for Hindus. Once again, James decided to err on the side of caution and ask his inside source. Sirius had passed along that lily-of-the-valley and heather were Lily's favorite flowers. Professor Sprout was kind enough to help James build the arrangement. On Sirius' suggestion, James had cast a crystallization charm over most of the bouquet, leaving only three sprigs of each kind of flower.

"Wilted flowers make her sad," Sirius had told him, pinning him in place with a needle-sharp look. "_Never make her sad._ Best mate or not, I will make you regret it."

"Then why am I leaving any of the blossoms natural?!"

"She'll want to press them," Sirius explained. "She likes doing things like that, because it makes her books smell nice and it preserves them as mementos of important occasions. Trust me, Prongs: _this is an important occasion_."

So, James had once again strayed from tradition on Sirius' advice. Once again, Lily had _loved_ it. Even better, she had even started wearing some of the crystallized sprigs tucked into her braids and ponytails. It made him so proud to see her wearing his gifts, and he knew that she knew that.

The next gift he almost went with his parents' suggestions. A box of imported chocolates handcrafted by magical chocolatiers seemed far more romantic than Sirius' suggestion of chocolate frogs. Sirius had shrugged not offended at James' declaration. He had nearly sent off the order form for the Swiss truffles before he had scratched that plan in favorite of ordering a gross of chocolate frogs from Honeydukes like Sirius had suggested. Padfoot hadn't steered him wrong yet.

"I was a bit worried, you know," Lily told James after he had given her the chocolate frogs. "You can be so traditional sometimes. I worried that I would have to pretend to love your courting gifts more than I really did. I would have loved everything you chose, because it all came from you, but I really love what you chose instead."

"Well, Sirius did say that following tradition for just tradition's sake was an outdated ideal," James explained, "and he really would know, wouldn't he?"

"He is the king of bucking traditions, isn't he?" Lily agreed. "He would know how to do it best. You should always listen to Sirius."

"That's what he taught me."

"I think I can stand to keep you and your menagerie around forever," she said before leaning in for a kiss. James grinned.

"Forever, huh?"

"Don't push it, Mr. Pointy."


	44. The Pub Incident

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** It was supposed to be just a quiet date night where they could eat their fish & chips in piece.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Times to Come; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!; Short Jog  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Care of Magical Creatures (Task#3: Write about an attack.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D30] (Shared Talents)(Romance); Insane House Challenge [233] ("Saying sorry is hard. Can't I just buy you jewelry instead?"); 365 [135] (Horrible); Galleon (fish & chips)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Blaise/Luna/Harry  
**Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; Muck & Slime; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Three's Company; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction); LiCK (Poppy; Narcissus; Yarrow); HoSE (Schooner)  
**Word Count:** 1100

(^^)  
**The Pub Incident**  
(^^)

Blaise growled in mild threat as Luna stole one of the pieces of fish from his basket. The blonde just grinned at him as she took passed her ill-gotten prize to their other soulmate. Harry blinked at his sudden possession of the pilfered food. As he always did when Luna decided to play this game, Harry tried to hand it back to Blaise. Just as routinely, Blaise shook his head and indicated that Harry should go ahead and eat it. Luna preened a bit in triumph as Harry obeyed.

Their relationship was just like that most of the time, and it had been from the very beginning, too. Sometimes figuring out who were soulmates by just demonstrating one's talents was too much hassle for anyone to bother even trying to find out who was the person destined as one's match. But Blaise's soulmates being who they were, and having the talents they did, had made it relatively simple to figure out that they were soulmates. Parselmouths were really rare in the UK, being far more prevalent on the Indian subcontinent and surrounding area, where the Potter family had emigrated from before settling in their Yorkshire estate. Once Harry had revealed himself to the school, Blaise had known he was looking at one of his soulmates.

Luna's talent, on the other hand, had been trickier, as one would expect from an empath of her strength. It was very easy for her to get caught up in the emotions of those around her if she was open to them. However, maintaining her shields left her unable to process her own emotions. It also had the unfortunate side effect of making her look perpetually confused or lost. Being able to focus one of them made keeping a balance possible. It also tended to reveal that Harry was in need of something, but for whatever reason, was doing anything about it.

That was usually when Luna would decide to steal from Blaise in a blatantly obvious way and pass it to Harry. Blaise would never begrudge Harry anything he needed, especially something like food. Harry had a horrible relationship with food that they were still trying to figure out the extent of. The most troubling issues were his habit of not understanding his body's hunger signals, which led to him either not eating enough or accidentally overeating. Luna's empathy actually came in handy for that, as physical feelings were something that she could sense.

Suddenly, Luna looked over Blaise's head. Her face grew politely blank as her silvery eyes grew as misty as the forest on the Potter estate during the full moon. Just from those two actions, Blaise knew that he would see a wix when he turned, despite it being a Muggle pub in a Muggle town. For them to be approaching their table, it also had to mean that it was someone who had recognized Harry. If it wasn't someone with ties to either fraction of the war, then it was likely a fan and they would have to figure out how to get Harry out of there without drawing too much attention from the Muggles.

Too many of those who would do anything to meet the Boy-Who-Lived _cum_ Man-Who-Conquered seemed to forget that the Statute of Secrecy existed.

Except when Blaise turned around, it wasn't anyone that he recognized, and they didn't seem to be focused on Harry. Instead the man seemed to be focused on _him_. Blaise narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"You must know her," the man muttered. He reached out with both hands. Instinctively, Blaise jerked away. Moving quickly, Blaise got to his feet, careful to keep between his mates and the stranger who was reaching for him again. "You look just like her. Please, can you tell me where she is? I love her! I must see her, just one last time."

"If my mother has denied you, please take that as a hint," Blaise said with a sigh. For all that his mother was not nearly as famous as his Harry was, she was just enough that this was a common enough occurrence. The only major difference was that Harry's fans were _grateful_ for the thing that made him famous. Claudia Zabini's fans were typically those who had sought her bed but would not accept her refusal. The unreasonable anger that caused had nearly cost his mother her life multiple times. Only meeting and bonding with his own soulmates had prevented Blaise from sharing his mother's fate to watch those she had loved turn into monsters who saw her as more possession than person. "I will not take you anywhere near my mother."

"Please," the man begged, grabbing hold of Blaise's shirt. "I have to see her again. It would only take a moment! Just a little moment of her time! Would you really begrudge me just a little moment?"

"Yes," Blaise said succinctly. With careful precision, he pried the man's hands off of him. "If my mother gave a _little moment_ to everyone who demanded one, she would spend all her life catering to strangers. It's not going to happen. Now please leave."

"That's what I thought you would say," the man said ominously. Faster that even Blaise could react, the man pulled out a dagger and stabbed Blaise's shoulder. The attack made him grunt, but it was when the man pulled the blade out for another blow that drew a gasp of pain from him.

"Hey, dragon-bait! Look at me!"

The man turned to obey Luna's order, giving Harry the opening he needed to throw a greasy basket that once held his chips into the man's face. While struggling with the newspaper sticking to his face, the man smacked himself with the pommel of the dagger. In an ironic twist of fate, he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

"Well, that's just embarrassing," Luna commented flatly. "Brought down by a chip wrapper and his own stupidity."

"I think I need to go to the hospital now," Blaise said, one hand pressed against his bleeding shoulder, "but I swear I will make up for ruining date night." He panted a moment before continuing. "Saying sorry is hard. Can't I just buy you jewelry instead?"

"You don't have to," Harry said only to be interrupted by Luna knocking her shoulder into his.

"Speak for yourself! I want the sparkly!" She grinned. "I've always wanted a sparkly of my very own."

Both Blaise and Harry groaned then, knowing what movie they would be watching later. Not that they really minded. _The Secret of NIMH_ really was a classic.


	45. Honey Pot

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Is it love? Or is it something else?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Minerva's Migraine; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Travel & Tourism (Task#3: Write about a secret meeting.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane House Challenge [60] (Peter Pettigrew); 365 [130] (Thrill); Galleon (Hogwarts kitchens)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Peter Pettigrew/Regulus Black  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench; Second Verse (Found Family; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** FR (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 554

(^^)  
**Honey Pot**  
(^^)

Peter tried to ignore the thrill that sneaking around behind his fellow Marauders' back caused. It shouldn't be that exciting to be going to a meeting in the kitchens of Hogwarts. After all, it was just the kitchens. It wasn't like he was sneaking out to spend the night playing with an actual werewolf. That was next week's adventure.

It was a struggle, but Peter managed to transform back to a human just outside the portrait of the fruit bowl that marked the human entrance to the Hogwarts kitchens. He just wasn't as good at transforming into his animal form as the other Marauders. He definitely wasn't as good as Lily, who had joined the group just this last winter. She had taken all their notes and had mastered changing into her other form within a couple of weeks. To make it even more impressive, the redhead was a _dragon_, instead of a mundane creature like the rest of them. That had to be a sign of how powerful she was, but just the thought of it made Peter shake from nerves. Lily didn't seem to like him as well as she liked the others. She was even dating James now, and it wasn't even a full year ago that she set him on fire for looking at her for too long.

The pear giggled when Peter tickled it for the handle. Then he slipped into the kitchens. Immediately, he spotted the sixth-year he was meeting. Regulus was just as handsome as Sirius was, but Regulus didn't have the weird habit of stealing Lily's clothes or randomly bypassing the security charm on the girls dorms but refusing to tell them how. If pressed, Sirius would only ever claim to _not be a boy, _as if that was even possible. Peter bet if Regulus knew how to bypass the security charm, he would share that information!

Besides, Regulus _liked_ Peter, as in _liked him, liked him_. That was the best feeling in the world! His entire life, Peter had been the one who was overlooked as a potential dating partner. Now one of the best looking blokes in the school was asking for secret meetings and making out with him in broom closets! He would pinch himself to make sure it wasn't a dream, but just in case it was, he didn't dare! He, Peter Pettigrew, was finally someone's boyfriend, and even if he occasionally wanted to scream that information in the faces of the girls who had always turned down his invitations to Hogsmeade, he could understand why Regulus wanted to keep it secret for a while longer.

After all, Sirius was bound to be upset that Peter was dating his baby brother. He might even punch Peter! Yes, it was much better to keep it all a secret!

Regulus rose to meet Peter. Wrapping his arms around Peter's waist, the pureblood dipped his head to kiss the corner of Peter's mouth. His gray eyes twinkled with something that was close enough to mirth that Peter accepted that must be what it is.

"I was beginning to worry that you weren't coming," Regulus said.

"I'll always come when you call, love," Peter replied. The words had the heavy feel of a magically binding promise to them, but that was fine. Peter meant every syllable.


	46. Potion Sweet

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Lots of darkness here.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC; Minerva's Migraine; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane House Challenge [866] (Crime); 365 [128] (Unique); Galleon (hot cocoa)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s): **Regulus/James (one-sided)  
**Bonus Challenges: **In the Trench  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 452

(^^)  
**Potion Sweet**  
(^^)

Regulus was determined to attract James Potter's attention. For too long the Gryffindor Golden Boy had been distracted by chasing Lily Evans, who was pretty enough for a Mudblood but not enough to make up for her tainted blood, and the way that his own brother Sirius would often hang off of James like a lecherous lemur. And truly, Sirius was an incorrigible flirt, because he would hang off of that raggedly half-blood Remus Lupin and Evans just as much. Salazar's sausages, Sirius would even hang off every member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team if given half a chance as well as that Hufflepuff prefect that was betrothed to Frank Longbottom. Regulus couldn't remember her name, but honestly, she was a Hufflepuff, so how unique could she be?

But what was ambition without a goal to pursue? And while the Potters weren't included in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, that was clearly an oversight on Cankerous Nott's side. The Potters had held the Duchy of Peverell for longer than Hogwarts had been in existence! Who cares if the name _Potter_ sounds Muggle when compared to that? As the next heir to the title, James needed someone worthy of being his consort. Of course, it had to be a Black, to better influence the bloodline. Dorea Black had always been a bit liberal and had clearly passed on those views to her son, but another Black, a more proper one, could bring the entire family back in line.

Regulus made a face at the thought of Fleamont and his wife. Maybe some housekeeping would need to be done once he was in position to do so. It shouldn't be too hard to arrange for some accident to happen to Charlus' brother. Kreacher would be perfectly willing to deliver some subtly spiked tea late one evening, and as an older elf, Kreacher wasn't as excitable as most of the creatures.

Regulus paused mid-stride. Now _there_ was a thought. He knew from his brother's ridiculous prattle that James loved hot chocolate. It shouldn't be a problem to slip a bit of love potion into his next order from the kitchens. Kreacher didn't even have to be seen delivering it.

"No," he told himself. "It's too risky. His behavior would change too quickly." Regulus twisted the idea in his head a few times. "Then again, if I halved the amount of ashwinder eggs in the initial batch and then slowly brought it back up to full strength over the course of, say, a month. It would be subtle enough that no one would suspect until it was too late."

His lips twisted into a smirk. That just might solve all his problems getting the boy of his dreams.


	47. Al Aboard

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** How Al & Scorpius met? Maybe?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane House Challenge [847] (Childhood Friend); 365 [165] (Marvelous); Galleon (Hogwarts Express)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Albus Potter & Scorpius Malfoy  
**Bonus Challenges: **n/a  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 307

(^^)  
**Al Aboard**  
(^^)

"My name is Albus," he said, hoping that by leaving off his surname that he could avoid a bit of the notoriety that seemed to come along with being Harry Potter's son. The blond boy sighed heavily before raising his eyes from his book. His expression was way too tired to be on any eleven-year-old's face.

"Let me guess," he drawled as he placed a finger between the pages to keep his spot. "Your parents were on the 'light' side of the war."

"Well, yeah," Albus replied. He had never really seen any issue with that. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing with that directly," the boy said. "It's more about the unfortunate name your parents have saddled you with. Albus Dumbledore was, from an objective standpoint, just as bad as the Dark Lord. The key difference being that Dumbledore did his misdeeds within the Wizengamot. Did you know that he helped create the Werewolf Registry? He was one of its key supporters, too. My mother actually threw a gala in celebration when Minister Granger got that law overturned and the Registry destroyed."

"Uh, okay," Albus said, feeling at a loss for what to say that wouldn't give away that _Minister Granger_ was his Aunt Hermione. "Well, my middle name is Severus..."

"Please tell me you're joking," the boy begged.

"Er..."

"And I thought _Scorpius_ was bad." The boy rubbed his face with his free hand, the same way that Albus' father did when he was trying to think before saying something that might set off people's tempers. Then he sighed again, clearly deciding to just say whatever it was. "Do your parents hate you or something?"

"Well, I didn't think so when I boarded the train today," Albus quipped, startling a chuckle out of Scorpius. He had the feeling it was the start of a marvelous friendship.


	48. Lucius Buys

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** In which Gwen makes the same penis joke several times, because they are secretly seven.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC (x2); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; In a Flash  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [661] (Hemingway quotation); 365 [109] (Vulgar)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Malfoys  
**Bonus Challenges: **Muck & Slime; Head of Perseus  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 354

(^^)  
**Lucius Buys**  
(^^)

"I just have one question," Throckmorton asked his brother upon seeing his newest purchase. Lucius sighed heavily as if put upon by the very idea of having his acquisition questioned. Throckmorton rubbed his hands together for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase the inquiry to reduce the likelihood of getting hexed for it. "How much of the family fault did you use to get you this very, very serious bird?"

"You do not need to concern yourself with such things. I know exactly what I'm doing." As if to punctuation that statement, the pure white bird chose that moment to scream.

"Well, I do have a reason for my question." Throckmorton got a raised eyebrow in return. "See, I find it very concerning that my big brother, you know, the _responsible one_, would spend anything on something so common."

"It is not common," Lucius said loftily, petting the peacock on his lap leisurely. "It is a majestic beast of superior elegance and style."

"Oh, I'm sure you tell that to all the witches," Throckmorton quipped, "but tell me truly, because inquiring minds demand to know: how much did you spend on the cock on your lap?"

"There is no need to be vulgar!"

"Lucius..." It was Throckmorton's turn to sigh gustily. "What kind of bird is that?"

"I see what you're trying to do, and it won't work."

"What kind of bird is it, Lucius?"

"It's a peacock," Lucius answered through clenched teeth.

"And where is it sitting?"

"I do not approve of this line of questioning."

"Where is it sitting?"

"On my lap."

"So you do have a cock sitting on your lap," Throckmorton announced triumphantly. He grinned. "Now tell me how much you spent on it, Lucy."

"I abhor that name, _Morton_."

"I bet it was a lot. Did you spend a lot of money on that cock?"

"Would you _please_ stop calling it that?"

"Was it all for that one cock?"

"No, I bought several."

"You bought several cocks?" Throckmorton asked as if scandalized. He was already leaving the room by the time Lucius got his wand out.


	49. Flight Preparation

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** In case you haven't noticed: I really don't like Dumbledore.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Durmstrang MC; Sett to Destroy (Y); Golden Times; Short Jog; Ethnic & Present; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Romance Awareness [D31] (Wings Upon Meeting) (Fairytale); Insane Prompt Challenge [660] (Oscar Wilde quotation); 365 [13] (Flavor); Scavenger Hunt [85] (Complete a Monthly/Fortnightly Challenge);  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** Claudia Zabini  
**Bonus Challenges: **Casper's House; Hot Apple; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts; Rock of Ages); Chorus (Bee Haven; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath; Abandoned Ship; Surprise!)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** HoSE (Sanctuary)  
**Word Count:** 1132

(^^)  
**Flight Preparation**  
(^^)

Albus Dumbledore had carefully crafted his plan. He had been handed a prophecy and while it had taken some maneuvering of pieces about the board, he eventually got his Chosen One. While everyone else had been celebrating Voldemort's defeat or mourning their lost ones, he had been hard at work securing his control over the boy. That had taken a bit of deception on his part, which was unfortunate, but one must do as one must. It was equally unfortunate that young Sirius had to disappear, but at least imprisoned in Azkaban, he couldn't interfere with Albus' placement of the Potter baby.

Everything had gone according to plan for over ten years.

It should have kept going according to plan.

It would have kept going to plan if it wasn't for Albus failing to take soulmates into consideration. It was just that it was so _rare_ for soulmates to actually meet. Well, it was rare for them to meet without concentrated effort in the forms of spells and potions that he had spent most of his life working to obscure or criminalize. Those shouldn't be a problem for years yet, as part of Albus' careful planning had included placing Harry Potter with a guardian guaranteed to chip away at the idea that love was something inherently deserved without sacrifice. That would also be necessary for when it came time for young Harry to sacrifice himself for the Greater Good, along with the spinning of a little tale that made it seem like death was the only option.

The Dursleys, perfect for grooming his Chosen Sacrifice, had reacted to Harry's invitation to attend Hogwarts just as Dumbledore had needed them to and had predicted they would. Then Hagrid had managed to keep any potential unwelcomed influences away from Harry during the trip to Diagon Alley for school shopping. It had been close at one point. If the Malfoy boy had been with his mother instead of alone, things might have been different, given that as a Black in good standing with the family, she could have walked away with the boy without repercussions and there would have been nothing that Albus could have done to regain control.

But all those close calls had come to mean _nothing_, because the boy just had to be one of those rare incidences of soulmates meeting completely by accident.

Maybe there was something to that saying about Fate playing favorites was both a blessing and a curse.

Now Albus had Claudia Zabini sitting in his office looking for all the world like she owned the place. To make matters worse, not only had she refused his offer of a lemon drop, she had her own house elf serve them tea. She had said it was because her elf was the only one who could get her tea right, but Albus just knew that it was a subtle show of distrust.

"I never expected to be here," she said as she fixed her tea. "It is very exciting, no? To have the opportunity to be present for soulmates meeting the first time, it is magnificent. Both boys went through so many colors, too, before settling as they did." She settled back in her seat, legs crossed demurely at the ankles. She took a sip of her tea and sighed at the flavor. "Tansy really has outdone herself this time. Won't you have any, Professor Dumbledore?"

"No, thank you. I am not particularly thirsty," Albus replied. He leaned forward and folded his hands on his lap. Inwardly, he cursed that he let her talk him into sitting in the arrangement by the fire rather than over at his desk. "I would like to know when to expect the boys to arrive at school. We will, of course, accommodate their need to be Sorted late."

Claudia hummed thoughtfully as she took another measured sip of her tea. Then she returned the cup to the saucer she held in her other hand.

"Didn't I say?" she asked as if surprised. "What with the newly forged soulbond, I believe it would be best if I arrange for them to be privately tutored, at least for this year." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure that you understand how delicate the situation is. Harry Potter is the soulmate of my only son. You can just imagine my shock!"

"You are certainly handling it well," Albus commented drily. Her violet eyes twinkled just the tiniest bit. For the first time ever, he understood why people got irritated with him when his eyes did the same thing.

She was certainly prepared for something that had to be as much a shock to her as it was to the rest of them. The boys had shaken hands and immediately both had their wings bursting out of their backs. She had acted quickly, whisking them both away with an emergency Portkey while their wings were still cycling through colors to show the world what their relationship was. He couldn't even argue that she had done anything wrong as it had occurred on the Muggle side of the platform, which meant that he also couldn't verify her version of the event. By the time he had even realized that anything had gone wrong with his plan, the Muggles had already had their memories altered.

"Thank you for saying so," she replied. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you think so."

"You shouldn't deprive the boys of being allowed to study with their peers," Albus tried again. "A few days to allow for the bond to settle should be more than enough and won't put them too far behind the rest of their classmates."

"I will take that under advisement, Professor Dumbledore," Claudia said as she set her teacup and saucer on the low table between them. Then she gracefully stood from her seat, straightening nonexistent wrinkles in her robe. "Now, I really must return to the boys. It's just about the time that the Healer said she'd be stopping by."

Albus watched as she accepted her outer cloak from her house elf. The same elf then snapped away the tea set she had used before snapping away herself and her mistress. Albus wanted to curse and scream, because in doing that, it prevented Albus from knowing which of her many residences she was using at the moment. Just like everything else, it appeared that she was at least three steps ahead of him.

Even worse, she had the law completely on her side rather than needing to manipulate things to appear that way.

Over on his perch, Fawkes gave a tinkling trill that sounded exactly like he was laughing.

Albus shivered at the chill that went down his spine at the sound.


	50. For the Chocolate

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** No one ships his friends with their future spouses than Sirius Orion Black III.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Technicolour Moon Assistance Fund (Y); Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC (x2); Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Shipmas; Seeds; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Trope It Up A [Shipper on Deck] (Y); Trope It Up B ["I will not go there and that's final!"] (Y); Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Risk] (Y); True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 04  
**Subject (Task No.):** Muggle Art (Task#5: Write about someone/something unconventional.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [258] ("You didn't do anything, so why are you apologizing?"); 365 [95] (Pastel);  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Fa Bingo [2A] (Change)**  
Representation(s):** Nymphadora Tonks/Remus Lupin  
**Bonus Challenges: **Hot Apple; Turtle-Duck; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Muck & Slime); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Surprise!)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); T3 (Terse; Thimble); FR (Evolution)  
**Word Count:** 619

(^^)  
**For the Chocolate**  
(^^)

"You should ask my cousin out," Sirius said one day out of the blue. Remus looked up from the pages he had been translating from one of the books from the Black Collection in confusion. Sirius looked completely present and not at all like he was attempting a prank, which just made his declaration even more bewildering to Remus.

"I am fairly certain that all your cousins are married, Padfoot," Remus answered carefully. Sirius sighed dramatically as if it was Remus who was suggesting something rather impossible.

Their marriages were actually the last reason why Remus would not date any of the Black sisters. Narcissa would never sully herself with someone as poor as he was, let alone someone with his _affliction_. Bellatrix had the Black Insanity in full technicolor and surround sound. Andromeda was a possibility up until the point that Remus remembered her from Hogwarts as _terrifyingly brutal_ as a duelist. Memories of her very public takedown of Bellatrix for giving Ted Tonks a love potion and then taking advantage of him were enough to kill any lust generated by her admittedly undeniable beauty.

"I'm not talking about _those cousins_," Sirius dismissed. "I'm talking about Tonks, you tosser."

"Tonks?"

"Someone say my name?" Tonks asked as she poked her head into the library. Her hair was a pastel purple today and long enough to curl around the tops of her ears. It almost obscured the tiny gold dragon that curled along her left earlobe before dangling a teardrop of wine-colored garnet from its open mouth in a parody of flames. It had been a gift from Charlie Weasley, a good friend of hers from Hogwarts, if Remus remembered correctly. She wore it often, when she was off duty.

"Moony did," Sirius answered in annoying cheerful tone. He gave the Auror a grin to match it. "We were just talking about how he should ask you out. There's an excellent little café just 'round the corner that has the best pastries. Have you ever had chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers? You'll love 'em."

"I am so sorry," Remus told Tonks. How could Sirius do this? The very idea of _him_, a broke werewolf with no prospects, dating someone like _her_, an energetic woman with her whole life ahead of her, was beyond ridiculous. It was absolutely absurd. Not to mention that she had been born while he had attended Hogwarts or how Andromeda Black Tonks was _her mother_ and would no doubt disapprove of him dating her.

"You didn't do anything," Tonks said, looking as confused as he had felt earlier, "so why are you apologizing?"

"I'm sure that Sirius didn't mean to put you on the spot or embarrass you. He forgets that some people aren't as unconventional as he is when it comes to things like dating."

"Oh, _really_," Tonks said, and Remus had been friends with Sirius long enough to hear the note of determination in her voice. No matter the House or generation, it seemed that a Black could not just leave a challenge alone. "Remus Lupin, have you ever had chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers? I have it on good authority that I'll love 'em."

"You really don't have to—"

"That doesn't sound like an answer," Sirius interrupted. He had the same satisfied smirk that he had worn when he had finally gotten Lily to agree to date James. The analogy was not lost on Remus. "You wouldn't want to leave a lady hanging, would you? Mate, there's _chocolate_ at stake."

"For the chocolate, Remus," Tonks echoed, grinning. Remus sighed in defeat, knowing that he was thoroughly outclassed against _two_ stubborn Blacks. He might as well give in gracefully.

"For the chocolate," he agreed.


	51. These Little Things

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So…Tag is back and so is my rapid-fire fills that are totally random. Here's more genderfluid Sirius Black and the rest of the Marauders. Also, there's minor references to NBphobia with a bit of imposter syndrome thrown in for added measure, but don't worry. The Marauders have Sirius' back. On a different note, I was listening to "Bad Blood" by Bastille while writing this and that's where title is pulled from.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; More than England; Rainbow Focus; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC (x4); Marauders Tales; Bow Before the Blacks; Fall Leaves; Seeds; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Location, Location, Location; Themes & Things A [Love]; Themes & Things B [Protection]; Ethnic & Present; True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 04  
**Subject (Task No.):** Charms (Task#2: Write about blowing something up with Bombarda Maxima.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [231]("Did you hear that?"); 365 [28](Courtesy); Sci-Fi September [Repulsor Technology](Blue color); Mythology Club (Chains)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Fa Bingo [4C] (Leaves)**  
Representation(s):** the Marauders; Genderqueer Sirius Black; Remus Lupin/Sirius Black pre-ship; Desi James Potter; Mixed Remus Lupin  
**Bonus Challenges: **Casper's House; Hot Apple; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Muck & Slime); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** TY (Enfant; Ntaiv); O3 (Orator; Oath); FR (Satisfaction; Liberation); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); T3 (Toad)  
**Word Count:** 1504

(^^)  
**These Little Things**  
(^^)

"Did you hear that?" Remus said, drawing James and Peter's attention away from their game of chess. James exchanged a look with Peter. The other boy just shrugged with a bemused look on his face. Remus was already placing the pale blue ribbon that he was using as a bookmark into the book he had been reading and shoving the book into the satchel that Sirius had got him for his birthday just the previous year. The edges of the leather had been tooled with aconite blossoms, because Sirius and Remus both had the same horrible love of irony. "Come on. I think we should check it out. It came from that direction."

"That's the direction of the Forbidden Forest," Peter pointed out in a trembling voice. "We know what's out there!"

"Exactly," James agreed as he tapped the board with his wand to trigger its built-in packing charm. It gave off a blue glow as it obeyed, not that it was really visible in the bright light of a perfect autumn day, the kind with a flawless blue sky that looked like it had been painted in place. Once packed, he handed the board over to Remus to be shoved into the wolfsbane bag. "We know what's out there, except for whatever made the noise that Remus just heard."

"So, you're what? Going to run towards it?" Peter squeaked as James and Remus proceeded to do just that. "Oh, god, you are. You're running towards the danger!"

"Yep," James called back over his shoulder. He didn't spare any more breath than that. He couldn't afford to, really, not if he was going to be able to keep up with Remus. Despite how exhausted he got around the full moon, Remus kept in better shape than James did with his training regime for Quidditch. James knew that Remus could outpace all of them except for Sirius, who would just cheat and transform into Padfoot to keep up. He had done it enough that all of Hogwarts knew there was a large black dog roaming the grounds and not even Professor Halliwell (who was rumored as thinking of retiring from teaching Divination) thought it was an omen of death anymore.

A loud boom sounded from deep within the forest. Well, not really that deep, James guessed, because they stumbled into a clearing almost immediately upon getting past the section of trees where the castle was still visible. And then promptly dropped to the ground as one because the figure in the clearing threw another powerful Exploding Hex, this time in their general direction. Luckily, living with Sirius Black (and Lily Evans, to a lesser extent) had given them an instinctive response to shouts of "bombarda maxima". Namely, that they kiss ground and be thankful that it missed them, because Sirius wasn't always, well, stable enough to note was at the other end of his wand.

James knew from his mother's stories of growing up that it was just a trait of being a Black. If he hadn't known it before making friends with Sirius, then watching even one of the epic duels between the Blacks currently attending Hogwarts would have been enough to convince him. Blacks were _vicious_ and _ruthless_ and downright _insane_. He still had nightmares of Andromeda and Bellatrix fighting in the entrance hall over Ted Tonks, and not just because being slipped a love potion was horrifying.

"Why is Sirius wearing a dress?" Peter panted from the leaves next to him. James looked up and sure enough, the person who had thrown the hex at the hawthorn near where they had entered the clearing was Sirius. He was wearing the light blue dress that Lily had been wearing on the Hogwarts Express this year. He must have let Lily perform the extension charms necessary, because it actually fit his beefier form rather than being oddly stretched as it would be if Sirius had performed the charms. "Are those chains?"

Only now that Peter had pointed it out did James notice that Sirius had several copper chains wrapped loosely around his hips like they were belts. Each link was connected to the next one with a dark blue bead that glittered in the sunlight that streamed through the break in the canopy above. Sirius spun to aim another Exploding Hex at another hawthorn on the other side of the clearing. The delicate chiming of the chains with their beads was nearly lost under the concussion of the hex exploding into the tree. James blinked in confusion when the tree just shook instead of raining splinters down on them. Then he wanted to hit himself.

All the trees lining the clearing were _hawthorns_. It didn't surprise him that Sirius knew where there was a hawthorn grove on the Hogwarts grounds. Given that it was practically the Black family tree, it was even possible that some long ago Black had been the one to plant it. That was if magic didn't encourage the growth herself because of how long the Blacks had been attending Hogwarts. The Blacks weren't the only family that had a strong connection to one of the twelve woods that made up the Celtic calendar, but James had never seen any of the other families that claimed such an affinity that was able to match a Black's ability to work with hawthorn. If the trees had been any other kind, there was no way that they would still be standing, not at the strength that Sirius was capable of dishing out in a temper.

As if to prove his point, Sirius twisted in a quarter turn and fired again. The ash tree exploded into thousands of shards. Peter whimpered as he covered his head. On James' other side, Remus heaved a sigh and shoved himself up headless of the danger from the still following shards. Then Remus approached Sirius, who was clearly upset as well as angry, as if he had nothing to fear from the Exploding Hexes being thrown about. It was always that way with them. When they had figured out that Remus was a werewolf, it had been Sirius that had first closed the distance that Remus had tried to put between them. Yet for all that, it was also between them that the fights typically happened. James had a bet with Frank Longbottom that the pair would end up dating before the end of their seventh year. At the rate it was going, James was likely to convince Lily Evans to date him (instead of the giant squid) than these two to actually get their heads out of their asses.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on a date with Colin Selwyn?" Remus asked. Sirius literally growled and twisted away to aim a hex at another hawthorn that was safely away from any Marauder-shaped target. Remus rubbed a hand down Sirius' back, the light olive contrasting nicely with the pale blue of the dress that Sirius wearing. "That bad, eh?"

"He didn't even have the courtesy to cancel before going out Tabitha Rosier." Sirius screamed out the incantation as he hit the same target as before. Then he wrapped his arms around himself with a loud sniff. When he continued, his voice was shaky. "He said-he said that if he wanted to date a girl, that he was perfectly capable of getting one. I tried to explain that-that I wasn't a girl, but, but he said-"

"He said that you weren't a boy," James said when it became obvious that Sirius wasn't going to continue. Sirius folded like a puppet with its strings cut at the words. Remus barely caught him in time to slow their descent to the ground. James barely paid any attention because he was scrambling to get to his feet and to them.

"What could I even say?" Sirius demanded through his silent tears. "It's not like he's not right. I even borrowed Lily's dress. What kind of boy wears dresses?"

"Ones with more self confidence that I will ever have," Remus muttered drily. "I just don't think I could pull it with my figure."

"Remus," James hissed, "you shouldn't say things like that! Your figure is just fine." Sirius was still shaking a bit but the hiccups sounded more like laughter than sobs now. James deliberately paused as if thinking before continuing. "Maybe something in yellow or red, though. I don't think you could pull off the blue like Sirius can. Sorry, but you're more of an autumn than a winter."

"What James is trying to say," Remus interrupted, clearly planning to ignore James' comment, "is that what does it matter what boys do? You're not one, and you never need to be one if that's not what you are. Selwyn can go get eaten by a dragon."

"That's really not fair," Peter interjected as he plopped down next to their little huddle. "What did the dragon do to deserve the ingestion?"

This time there was no denying that Sirius was actually laughing.


	52. Fancy

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** What's a snog between friends?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** More than England; Misunderstood; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC (x2); Bow Before the Blacks; Seeds; Shipmas; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love]; True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 04  
**Subject (Task No.):** First Aid (Task#9: Write about someone seeing someone/something/a situation clearly for the first time.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [243]("You're lucky I'm here, let's get that straight right now."); 365 [22](Reckless); Sci-Fi September [Spandex](Flexible trait); Mythology Club (Trickster trait)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **n/a**  
Representation(s):** James Potter/Sirius Black  
**Bonus Challenges:** Hot Apple; Second Verse (Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Brooms Only; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Evolution; Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); TY (Enfant)  
**Word Count:** 436

(^^)  
**Fancy**  
(^^)

"So," Sirius said, dragging out the syllable until Lily Evans was completely hidden by the crowd of Hogsmeade, "fancy a butterbeer and a snog? You know, to heal your broken heart?"

James sighed deeply. Sirius decided to study his nails to give him a moment or so to pull himself together after being publicly rejected _again_. Honestly, Sirius was starting to think that she had meant it when declared that she would date the giant squid before she would date James. She was still rather peeved about the stupid prank from last fall that had broken the Marauders for a bit. Sirius couldn't even say that she was wrong to hold onto that anger, because Remus always had forgiven people too easily for any wrong they had done to him. Just because she had finally broken off with Snivellous, it doesn't mean that James really had any more of a shot getting her to go out with him than he had back before Snape proved he was just as racist as the other junior Death Eaters that he hung around with.

"Yeah, sure," James said finally. Sirius yanked his attention back to his best mate. For all that James had never said anything negative about him or Remus when they were obvious about their own flexible preferences in snogging partners, Sirius had always gotten the impression that if James wasn't straight, then he was at least so focused on Lily Evans that nothing else really mattered. Seeing Sirius' expression, James rolled his eyes. "What? A guy can't snog his best mate now? What is this world coming to?"

"I just didn't think you'd be up for that," Sirius explained. Clearly, he had been a bit blind where James had been concerned. He could see that now. "I'm glad that you agreed, but I was expecting you to go after her, despite her blowing you off again."

"And leave you alone to wreak havoc on your own? What kind of reckless fool do you take me for?"

"First off," Sirius snapped in mock offense, "you're lucky I'm here. Let's just get that straight right now."

"Of course, I'm lucky that you're here," James agreed readily. He moved closer, pressing his body against Sirius'. The warmth Sirius could feel coming from James made him shiver a bit in anticipation. "We could do the snog first, if you need convincing that I'm serious."

"But you're not serious." He grinned even as James looked like he had figured out what he was about to say. Sirius kissed the tip of his nose. "I am."

"That's a horrible pun."

"Thank you."


	53. The Biscuit Massacre

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Give me a prompt about cookies and you know what will show up: _chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers_. I've had these things—homemade, of course, because what Sirius says about them being commercially available is unfortunately true—and let me tell you that Magi's Granny was totally onto something when she swapped out the jam. Pouring chocolate over them was a sheer stroke of brilliance.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Gryffindor MC (x3); Bow Before the Blacks; Seeds; Shipmas; Ways to the Heart; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Location, Location, Location; Themes & Things A [Love]; Ethnic & Present; True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Click Bait It  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 04  
**Subject (Task No.):** Sociology (Task#3: Write about someone moving into their own place.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [43](Frenetic); 365 [03](Bloodshed); Sci-Fi September [Green Goblin](Revenge theme); Mythology Club (Stealing)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Fa Bingo [2B] (Death)**  
Representation(s):** James Potter/Lily Evans & Sirius Black; Desi James Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Turtle-Duck; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Surprise!)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Liberation)  
**Word Count:** 613

(^^)  
**The Biscuit Massacre**  
(^^)

"Where should I put this box?" Sirius asked as he came through the door. James quickly dropped Lily's biscuit tin, slamming the lid back into place. He swallowed his mouthful quickly. Then promptly started coughing as the barely chewed cookies choked him. Sirius dropped his box on the couch in order to beat James on the back. "You're stealing Lily's biscuits?"

"I can't help it," James confessed, covering his mouth to keep from spraying crumbs everywhere. "I didn't think they would be good, but they are so good."

"You know that Remus makes those for her special," Sirius pointed out. He frowned at James. "Blackberry jammy dodgers are not made commercially, let alone ones that are also covered in chocolate. Lily is gonna murder you if she finds out."

"Why am I killing James?" Lily asked as she came into the flat with an armful of clothing on hangers. Not waiting for a real answer, she continued onto the room that she and James had claimed for themselves. As she went, she called over her shoulder, "you have about three minutes to figure out an excuse to avoid bloodshed."

"You've got to help me, Padfoot," James begged. Sirius looked like he was wanting to run away and never look back. James rushed on to explain why he needed help in the first place. "I've eaten all but two!"

"You're joking, right?" Sirius began to shove bowls and plates into the kitchen cupboard with frenetic motions, as if he could get it all put away in the time window that Lily had given. "What am I supposed to tell _your wife_ that could possible explain why her biscuit tin is empty? That they were poisoned?"

"Nobody is going to poison my biscuits," Lily announced as she came back into the main area of the flat. She settled on a stool near the breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the rest of the space. James had to resist the urge to grab the biscuit tin and hide it behind him. Lily gave him a sharp smile that was full of teeth. "Is there something that you would like to confess, O husband?"

"Uh, maybe?" he replied hesitantly, trying to remember that Lily really wasn't as violent as her reputation would suggest. Yeah, she was ruthless and creative in duels and combat, but she really wasn't prone to fits of temper. That was just a stereotype for redheads, one that Lily didn't approve of. It wasn't like she was going to transform into her Animagus form and eat him or set him on fire. He swallowed hard before turning pleading eyes towards Sirius.

"He stole your jammy dodgers," Sirius announced without looking at either of them.

"_Traitor_," James snapped. Unfortunately, focusing on Sirius made James miss Lily reclaiming her biscuit tin and opening it.

"_Jamadagni Chandresh Potter_," Lily hissed, instantly reclaiming James' attention. Only his mother and grandmother had ever used his proper full name, and only ever when he was in deep, deep trouble. He could feel the blood draining from his face. He would have bet that he was almost as pale as Sirius. "You ate all of my biscuits?!"

"There's two left—" James cut himself off with a high-pitched scream as Lily lunged for him. No doubt their new neighbors would think that someone was being murdered from that. Sirius didn't help any with his barking laugh as he caught the pair of them before they could fall to the ground. Lily nipped at the tip of James' nose.

"You get to ask Remus for more," Lily ordered. James nodded frenetically. Anything to appease her. "And I get the first shower tonight."


	54. His Baudelaire is Showing

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. This fic also includes a child having a severe allergic reaction to a candy and then having an over-reaction to the dose of (in-verse) antihistamine he is given. Said child does not react emotionally to either of these things and likens the feeling to a canon-typical event for him (which is child abuse to the point of attempted murder). Feel free to back out if you can't handle this.

**Author's Note:** Despite the warning, this is actually rather fluffy? It's a better bonding scene for Harry and Ron than fighting Draco and arguing with Hermione, at least in my opinion. Oh, and shout out to Trish (starspangledpumpkin) for the idea to use "peppermint candy" as my something mundane & innocent that causes harm. Also, her birthday was the 19th, so go love on her fics as a belated b-day present?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Feast; Sett to Destroy; Fall Leaves; Unaccompanied Minors; Ways to the Heart; Interesting Times; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Everyone's Cousin; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Letter of the Day; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Gender? Who That?; Short Jog; Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 07  
**Subject (Task No.):** Folklore (Task#9: Write about being harmed by something [not someone] mundane and innocent.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [17](Humbug); 365 [18](Polite); Galleon Club (Pumpkin Pasty)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Fa Bingo [2D] (Pumpkin)**  
Representation(s):** placeholder  
**Bonus Challenges: **Sitting Hummingbird; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts; Lyre Liar; Corvid Brain; Hot Apple); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Delicious Lie; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; Turtle-Duck); Demo (Gingersnap); Demo (Queen Bee)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Satisfaction; Liberation); TY (Enfant); RoIL (Satisfaction; Exuviation)  
**Word Count:** 1231

(^^)  
**His Baudelaire is Showing**  
(^^)

Harry listened as Ron started another story about life in the wizarding world. This one was about the twins that had helped Harry with his trunk. Apparently, they were pranksters. The story wasn't really all that interesting, given that it was the sixth story about the twins that Ron had told since they had met just a few hours ago. Harry wasn't about to stop the red-haired boy from talking, though, because every story gave Harry a few more clues about this new world he was joining.

The way that the twins had changed Ron's teddy bear into a spider did make Harry wonder if children raised in the wizarding world all had such early access to wands. Having read all his textbooks in the month he had them no longer seemed enough to make up for not knowing about magic until he had gotten his letter. He must be woefully behind the wizarding-raised children.

Maybe he should see about continuing his habit of reading random shelves in the library. Did Hogwarts even have a collective library? Most public schools did. Access to them was usually one of the boasted perks of attending the institutions. Well, among other things like all the stuffy _values_ and _pride_ that Uncle Vernon liked to lecture Dudley about when Aunt Petunia was at her book club. Harry didn't know much about the school other than what Hagrid had said. It sounded like a public school, though, with how that kid with the pointy face in the robes shop had talked.

Speaking of something that the boy had mentioned…

"What's a Hufflepuff?" Harry asked without thinking. He bit his tone as he realized that he had interrupted Ron. Thankfully, the boy didn't seem upset about it.

"It's one of the Houses of Hogwarts," Ron explained with a shrug. He reached for one of the bottles of squash that they had gotten along with the slew of candy and pastries off the trolley. With an absent movement, Ron popped the stopper out of the bottle before drinking half the bottle in one go. "It's where they sent the duffers—well, not really. It's supposed to be the House of hard work and dedication, but it's also where everyone goes when they can't be sorted anywhere else. I think I've got a cousin on Mum's side who was a Hufflepuff. His name's Throckmorton or something like that. Most of Mum's family were Gryffindor like all of Dad's."

"Gryffindor?" Harry prompted when Ron seemed more interested in choosing between the little pasties or the little cakes shaped like cauldrons. The pasties were pumpkin. Between the juice and the pasties, Harry was honestly starting to think that the wizarding world was obsessed with Muggle Halloween and the related concept of witches. He picked up a candy labeled a Peppermint Toad to turn over in his hands.

"House of the Brave," Ron declared picking up a pumpkin pasty. "They also stand for chivalry, but I never seen that stop the twins from taking after Ginny if they're annoyed."

"Is this a lolly?" Harry asked instead of saying something that would give away his secret reading habit. He had already gathered from Ron's description of his brother Percy that volunteering extra information would not be welcomed. Ron nodded before taking a bite of pasty. Harry opened the package to see a toad-shaped humbug that was not animated like the chocolate frog earlier had been. "I don't think I've ever had a peppermint anything before. Now I'm going to eat one shaped like a toad."

Ron made a sound of acknowledgement that threatened to cover Harry with crumbs. Harry managed to keep any from landing on his toad by popping it in his mouth. For all that Ron was far nicer, his eating habits were a lot like Dudley's: _messy_. At least Ron wasn't laying claim to everything like Dudley would have. That was probably more out of habit from having so many siblings (Ron had _six_!), but Harry wanted pretend that it was because Ron genuinely liked him.

It was nice to have a friend, even if it was just Harry pretending for the train ride.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut. Peppermint was very strong. It also _burned_, which was strange because it was also cold enough that his lips and tongue were growing numb from it. He scratched at his cheek. The baggy shirt he was wearing suddenly felt tight in the collar.

"Uh, mate?" Ron asked sounding worried. Harry tried to open his eyes but only one responded. The other felt like that time Aunt Petunia had caught him with her frying pan, back before he learned to duck better. _Swollen shut_, that was the phrase. "Oh, bollocks. Harry, spit out the toad!"

Harry tried to do as Ron had told him, but all he could manage was opening his mouth. His tongue had gone numb enough that it felt swollen. It definitely wasn't responding like it should have. Ron grabbed Harry by the back of his neck and forced his head forward enough for the candy to drop onto the floor of their compartment. Harry's glasses landed next to it. Then Ron began to frantically dig at the pockets of his jeans as Harry watched with blurry vision.

"Yes," Ron cheered when he pulled out a small tin. He popped open the lid to reveal a tiny vial filled with a translucent violet potion that sparkled with heather specks. With the same habitual motion that he had used on the bottles of pumpkin juice, Ron removed the stopper.

Then he grabbed Harry's chin and poured the contents of the vial into his mouth. Harry sputtered a few times as he struggled to swallow the liquid that threatened to choke him worse than his shirt had been. Ron looked as apologetic as he was worried. He let go of Harry, holding both hands up where Harry could see them.

"Sorry," Ron said. His blue eyes kept roving over Harry's face. "I should have at least told you what I was giving you. That would have been polite. Mum would chew my ear off if she knew I had done that."

"Wha'?" Harry asked, still confused and now starting to feel both tired and dizzy. Ron caught him as he tried to pitch forward. Harry blinked rapidly. His vision just got worse. "Wha'?"

"Merlin's saggy shorts," Ron cursed as he helped Harry lie down on the seat. That was only slightly better for the dizziness. "You are reacting really strongly to the Allergy Elixir. Even Ginny didn't have this strong a reaction, and she's tetchy." Ron swallowed hard enough that Harry could hear it. "Yeah, you just lie down and rest—where's a bloody prefect when you need one? Of all the times for Percy to _not_ be his nosy self!"

"Won?"

"It's okay," Ron reassured as his hands patted Harry's chest gently. It was nice, just like how Aunt Petunia would fret over Dudley. Maybe that meant that Ron was his friend? "Don't be daft, Harry. Of course, I'm your friend. If you want me to be, that is. I did just almost kill you."

"Isn't anything new," Harry managed. He was confident that he was speaking out loud that time.

Harry thought he heard Ron give a watery laugh as the blackness edging his vision managed to overwhelm him.


	55. Tropical Fruit

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** Finally moving this into actual publication. Also, this is part of why Ron has an Allergy Elixir in his pocket. In case anyone was wondering.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Rainbow Focus; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Feast; Small Fry; Food Roulette; Gryffindor MC; Seeds; Ways to the Heart; No Proof; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love]; Tiny Terror; In a Flash (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 07  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [12] (Verve); 365 [306] (Basket); Galleon Club (Crimson)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Fa Bingo [4E] (Fruits/Vegetables)**  
Representation(s):** the Weasley family; Severe Allergy; Law-Breaking  
**Bonus Challenges: **Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Corvid Brain); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Tether); TY (Enfant)  
**List (Prompt):** Service Prompts (Rescue)  
**Word Count:** 547

(^^)  
**Tropical Fruit**  
(^^)

"I don't want any," Percy declared with all the authority that an eight-year-old could muster. He shoved the bowl of fruit away from him.

Immediately, three-year-old Ron stuck his hand in it and pressed the resulting handful to his mouth. Not to be outdone, little Ginny grabbed the bowl to pull it closer to herself, taking her own handful with her other hand. The crimson and orange of the tropical fruits matched the exact shade of her curls. The mango and papaya quickly turned to a sticky paste as the toddler seemed more interested in playing with the new food than eating it.

Molly sighed, already anticipating the cleaning up that would be necessary after her younger children had eaten their fill of the treat. It was rare to be able to afford anything that they couldn't grow in their own garden or that wasn't grown from one of the local farms. However, she had just sold a knitted blanket at the same time that the grocer in town had gotten a shipment of various fruits from the tropics. It was just an excellent stroke of luck.

Her instincts suddenly screamed that something was going wrong. Out of unfortunate habit, she turned to check on the twins. Even at just barely six years old, Fred and George had all the rambunctiousness and verve that her brothers had had while they were still alive. They were certainly a handful in just themselves. Any time they were quiet, it was a safe bet that they were up to something.

The twins had a bowl of cut fruit in front of them. It was mostly empty, having clearly been eaten in a more precise method that what Ron and Ginny had used. Unfortunately, both twins were rubbing their throats which were flushed to a crimson color that almost matched the papaya. Whining gasps sounded as they struggle to breathe. Molly could see their faces turning crimson as well from the effort. She rushed over trying to get them to open their mouths, which they did willingly. Fear pounded in her heart at the sight of their red and swollen tongues.

Her mind swirled at possible steps and solutions. It would help if she knew what was causing what was happening. Desperate, she flew to the pantry where she kept her first-aid potions. It was unlikely that a bezoar would hurt, but by Merlin, did she have two? She did! Prize in hand, she raced back to the twins to feed them the stop-gap solution, at best—if it worked. Please, _please_ let it work.

Then she was left with the quandary of figuring out how to get herself and five little ones to St. Mungo's. She couldn't Side-Along the lot of them. Flooing with small children was always a gamble, even without the added distraction of sick children. Whipping out her wand, she summoned a length of crimson ribbon from her sewing basket in the living room. Another flick of her wand had it glowing the tell-tale blue that signified a Portkey, the law restricting their creation be cursed.

In less than a minute, she had all of the children who were home right then gathered up and touching the ribbon. Then they were gone, sucked away to the Healers.


	56. The Lord in the Grandson

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also reference to a severe food allergy. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This is based on another fic that I wrote. All that you need to know from _Tropical Fruit_ is that the twins had a severe allergy reaction to a new food and had to be rushed to the hospital. That is mentioned in the fic.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Small Fry; Food Roulette; Gryffindor MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; Seeds; Tissue Warning; No Proof; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A [Love]; Themes & Things B [Risk]; Neurodivergent; Tiny Terror; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Letter of the Day; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 07  
**Subject (Task No.):** Folklore (Task#1: Write about trying to warn someone about something.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [496] (Hospital); 365 [91] (Young);  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Fa Bingo [1D] (Legacy)**  
Representation(s):** the Weasleys; Food Allergy; Autistic Percy Weasley  
**Bonus Challenges: **Under the Bridge; Queen Bee; Second Verse (Corvid Brain; Muck & Slime; Lyre Liar; Lovely Coconuts; Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates; Mother Hen; Sneeze Weasel; Nontraditional; White Dress; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Head of Perseus; Abandoned Ship; Tomorrow's Shade; Mouth of Babes; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade; Wabi Sabi; Pear-Shaped)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** SHoE (Terse; Brood); O3 (Olivine); T3 (Terse; Tether)  
**Word Count:** 748

(^^)  
**The Lord in the Grandson**  
(^^)

Molly paced the length of the waiting room. Ron was a solid weight in her arms and still hiccupping from the crying fit he had at all the activity. He was the most reactive of her children. It led to a lot of thrown toys and hit siblings, but it also made him the easiest one to teach sharing. In the end, it all balanced out, really.

However, after having to rush to St. Mungo's with five children because the twins had reacted badly to the tropical fruit that she had gotten as a splurge, dealing with a terrified three-year-old who was wailing like a banshee in her ear was not doing anything for her nerves. Healers had immediately taken the twins away to be treated. Not having the pair of five-year-olds where she could see that they were responding to treatment was making everything just that much worse.

"Mum," Percy whispered from where he was sitting on a bench with Ginny. A quick glance showed that the two-year-old was fighting off sleep. That was probably why Ron was refusing to settle, too. They were usually halfway through with their afternoon naps by now. At eight, Percy was handling the stress of the emergency better than the overwrought toddlers. He was still pale enough that his freckles stood out like reversed beacons. As Molly watched, Ginny tried to stick her thumb in her mouth. Percy immediately pushed it away. Ginny gave a wail of tired protest at being denied her sleepy ritual. "Mum, can you—"

"Percy, let your sister have her thumb," Molly scolded distractedly. Ginny's wail had set off Ron again. Where he had been calming towards sleep, he was ramping up for a full-out fit now. Ginny cried again as Percy held both her hands away from her face. "I'm serious, young man. There is nothing wrong with her sucking her thumb."

"But Mum, she shouldn't do it!" Percy shouted. Molly looked at her third-born and currently the oldest of her children not at Hogwarts. He looked like he was close to exhausted tears himself. If Ron was the most reactive of her children, then Percy was by far the most even-tempered. Oh, he was still as capable of fire and waspishness as any of them and just as stubborn as her own mother had accused her of being. But he was not usually disobedient or outright defiant like this. Ginny gave another shrill wail with Ron echoing her.

"Percival Ignatius Weasley," Molly snapped, driven to her wits end by the stress, "let go of your sister right this second or so help me—"

"But _Mum_—"

"No 'buts'. _Now_."

"No," Percy said with a firm tone that no eight-year-old should be capable of achieving. His blue eyes sparked with a cold fire that demanded attention. With a hiccup, Ron stopped crying completely. Even Ginny quieted to whines instead wails. For the first time, Molly saw Septimus Weasley, Arthur's estranged father, in one of her children.

"Percy—"

"No," he repeated. "Ginny needs her hands washed first."

A chill went through her at the realization of what Percy was trying to prevent. Ron had eaten the fruit without any issue. Percy had refused to even touch his bowl. Ginny hadn't eaten any of hers, but she had played with the chunks, which would have left the juice all over her hands.

And they had no idea if she was also allergic.

"Oh, _Merlin_," Molly breathed. Her distraction and impatience had almost cost her dearly. She felt like crying herself. Percy gave an almost-imperial incline of his head in acknowledgement, clearly not ready to forgive her quite yet. "Yes, she does. Let's get that done right now."

Arthur arrived at that very moment in a flurry of frantic motion. The letter that the receptionist had been kind enough to send him using one of the hospital's owls was clutched in his hand. The vibrant lime color of the paper seemed too bright for the gloom of the waiting room.

Only later, after Ginny's hands had been washed and they had all been allowed to join the twins in the room they were being kept overnight for observation, did Molly realize that Percy hadn't spoken a single word to her since their confrontation. She couldn't help but feel a bit colder without the normal spiel of information that Percy would share. She hoped he would feel more like himself after they all got some well-deserved rest.


	57. Zoo Moment

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Also, I headcanon Remus as shorter than Tonks. Because why not?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Misunderstood; Technicolour Moon Assistance Fund (Y); Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Day Out; Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Seeds; Shipmas; No Proof; Interesting Times; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Location, Location, Location; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Protection] (Y); True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 09  
**Subject (Task No.):** Beauty Therapy (Task#6: Write about something figuratively/literally going on behind someone's back.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [275]("The best thing that's ever happened to me is you."); 365 [129] (Mundane); Mythology Club (Love); What's Cooking [Cottage Cheese] (No using "said"); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 1] (Chronic Health Issue – Lycanthropy); Supermarket Sweep [CD] (A Hufflepuff)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Su Bingo [3A] (Zoo)**  
Representation(s):** Nymphadora Tonks/Remus Lupin; bisexual Remus Lupin;  
**Bonus Challenges: **Under the Bridge; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Most Human Bean; Hot Apple; Professor's Torment); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Surprise!; Turtle-Duck; Some Beach)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Terrarium); SN (Rail); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Oath); TY (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 895

(^^)  
**Zoo Moment**  
(^^)

"This is a bad idea."

"Oh, don't be a spoilsport," Tonks countered as she pushed through the glass doors that led from the main building into the campus of the zoo itself. They had just spent the last half hour going through the conservation exhibits in the building. The exhibits were lovely, even without a hint of magic, but she had not dragged her boyfriend to the zoo to look at mechanical animals and listen to lectures about the importance of saving natural habitats.

She wanted to see _actual animals_.

"No, I'm being honest," Remus argued. He was keeping pace with her at least, even if he hung ridiculously back from the edge of the otter enclosure. It was like he was hiding behind her, using her as a shield against potential danger. They weren't even far enough into the zoo to get to the larger or more dangerous animals. This first habitat was for otters. What did he think they were going to do? They were _otters_. Who could be afraid of otters? "This is a really bad idea, Tonks."

"Do you hate animals that much?"

She was immediately distracted by one of the otters taking a doughnut shaped toy from the others and diving into the moat with it. The other otters chased after the first one. The ensuing water battle was worthy of reenactment at Hogwarts. Children screeched their delight at the display even as Remus continued to shift nervously at her back. How could anyone be afraid of such adorable creatures?

"I don't hate animals," Remus denied. He sounded more defensive that she had ever heard him be, even while arguing with Sirius about pranks they had pulled during their Hogwarts years. She looked over her shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow the same way that her mother always did when she knew Tonks was lying. Remus flushed in clear embarrassment and looked at his shoes like a firstie facing McGonagall after sneaking out of the dorms after curfew. "I don't! It's just that they tend to hate me."

"Animals hate you?" She turned fully towards him, putting her back to the small crowd of children watching the otters wrestling in their pool. Not caring about the adults in their midst, the children continued to cheer for the battling otters.

"At least the mundane ones do," Remus explained as he scratched at his jaw absently. He eyed the otters who were chittering angrily at each other in the course of their battle for the toy. "They sense the curse, I think. It agitates them. Some run away or cower. Others… well, the opposite of flight is fight, isn't it?"

"You're kidding me," she accused, trying not to laugh. "You are seriously afraid of animals?"

"That's not fair. They may look adorable and all, but I assure you that they can be quite vicious."

"Really?" She pursed her lips as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "You used the word 'adorable'. Not all animals are adorable. What attacked you that has you so nervous about _adorable animals_?"

"It's a long story—"

"It's a big zoo." She grinned at him. An otter let out a frustrated scream behind her. "We've got time, because I want to see it all."

"You know, you are rather adorable but vicious yourself."

"Flattery will get you all kinds of places," Tonks declared as she closed the small distance between them. Taking care to not move too quickly or accidentally move through either of his blind spots, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He shuttered hard before letting his head fall forward to press against her collarbone. Comfortingly, she rubbed her fingers against the name of his neck. "We're still going to visit the entirety of the zoo, love. Maybe we'll run into an old friend or two."

"You badgers can be so mean," he muttered discontentedly but without moving away from her. She hummed under her breath and kissed his temple. "Why can't you be the stereotype that everyone expects of you?"

"I can't even keep an air fern alive, Remus. Pretty sure I'm doomed as a nurturing type."

"But there will at least be biscuits," Remus soothed. She laughed into the morning sunlight. The otters chatter excitedly behind her. The children echoed them.

"Only because you've baked them," she replied. She rubbed her wrists over his neck and the bits of shoulder that were exposed by the gap at his collar. In response, he rubbed his forehead against her clavicle. "Come on; I'll protect you from the big, bad otters."

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" The words were whispered reverently. Each syllable was a gentle as the breath tickling her skin. "The best thing that's ever happened to me is you."

"Just for that, I'll protect you against the bunnies and lemurs, too."

"What about the peacocks that roam freely?"

"You're on your own there, my love."

"That's fair. Peacocks are just brightly covered evil. I wouldn't want to tangle with them either."

"Bite me, wolf-boy," she countered. Then she let out a yelp when Remus nipped at her shoulder before pulling back finally. Behind their backs, the otters played on for the crowd of children who didn't even noticed what a pair of strange adults were doing behind their backs.

It was going to be a good day.


	58. The Moon's Protector

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** A reminder to everyone that "wix" is a gender neutral term for an HP witch or wizard and that "wixen" is both the plural and adjective form of that word. Also, head's up: Blaise is female in this.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 11); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Hola, Bonjour, Jambo; Misunderstood (Y); More than England (Y); Sapphic Bribery (Y); Black Ribbon (Y); Black Ribbon Redux; History Lies; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Brush; Fall Leaves; Seeds; Shipmas; No Proof; Interesting Times; Golden Times; Old Shoes (Y); Location, Location, Location; Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things B [Protection] (Y); The 3rd Rule (Y); Advice from the Mug; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Gender Bender; Letter of the Day; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 11 – Assignment 09  
**Subject (Task No.):** Beauty Therapy (Task#9: Write about someone who feels like they can't breathe.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [178](Injustice); 365 [17](Veil); Galleon Club (Fury); Pinata [Medium] (Femslash)  
**Space Address (Prompt): **Wi Bingo [5C](Dark)**  
Representation(s):** Luna Lovegood/Blaise Zabini; Love at First Meeting; Autistic Luna; Creature Blaise; fem Blaise  
**Bonus Challenges: **Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Clio's Conclusion; Lock & Key; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Most Human Bean; Casper's House; Hot Apple; One Man's Cow; Under the Bridge); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Surprise!; Turtle-Duck; Getting On); Demo (Ariel's Temptation); Demo (Tootsies)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terrarium); SN (Spare); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Olivine); SS (Schooner; Sanctuary); SuMd2 (Genderswap); Wings (Icthyology); DP (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 1238

(^^)  
**The Moon's Protector**  
(^^)

Blaise prowled the corridors of Hogwarts, restless for some reason she couldn't quite pinpoint. It wasn't anything that she wasn't used to by now. For the first few weeks every year since she has started Hogwarts five years ago, she has been driven to these nightly walks. The only explanation she could up with was that being surrounded by so many different magical signatures irritated her innate sensitivity to such things.

Of course, all of the dark wixen knew that the self-proclaimed Dark Lord had been resurrected at the end of the past June, regardless of what the Ministry was reporting in the news. Already, the aberration had put out notice that he expected all of them to pay homage to him, as if he were worthy of it from any except the few families that bought into his disgusting rhetoric about purity. It was an insult to everything their traditions had always been against. The dark protected; it sheltered those who needed it when the light would burn and blind and _break_. The dark did not care about purity in any regard, knowing that having the blessing of magic was enough for them all to be equal. It had always been the light that restricted how life was allowed to be lived.

No amount of lies could change that. No amount of fighting between Voldemort and Dumbledore's forces would ever change that. The truth did not care what lengths people went to in order to ignore it.

Tonight's path took her into Ravenclaw territory. The halls around the Eagles' tower were decorated in various blues cut through with bronze and copper. Even the armors in the area were made of bronze and copper instead of the steel of the main body of the school. There were also more hidden libraries in that portion of the castle than in any other, each dedicated to a different topic and protected against the contents leaving its designated library. Just like how Gryffindor territory had lions everywhere, Ravenclaw territory had eagles everywhere, and as one might expect, all of them had dark talons.

A soft sound, barely audible even in the silence of the night, drew her attention away from her restlessness. She stretched out her senses, already preparing to be annoyed if she found someone's pet. She honestly didn't know why so many students brought them and then let them wander freely. It wasn't safe, not when half of them were prey animals for the creatures inhabiting the castle and its grounds. Not to mention how nothing had been done to prevent repetitions of the Kitten Boom of 1976, when a particularly ambitious tom managed to knock up every queen in the castle at the time.

It was not a pet, even if the magical signature didn't register the same way that a wixen's signature would. Cautiously, Blaise approached the cupboard where the signature was. Was it a boggart, laying in wait? Or something more dangerous? The sound of something gasping tore at the heart the other Slytherins claimed that she didn't have.

(She had no time for how the unfairness of that assessment made white hot fury bubble within her chest. Daphne Greengrass, Ice Queen of Slytherin and one of Blaise's best friends, at least got a heart even if they claimed it was frozen for everyone except Tracey Davis. But Blaise was labeled as heartless of her mother and just as likely to kill anyone who sought her hand.)

Blaise reached out and took hold of the threads of magic that made up the wards locking the cupboard. They tasted of bitter cruelty mixed with the saltness of jealousy. With great pleasure, she ripped down the wards. She gave a toothy grin as she allowed her magic to burn away the disgusting flavor. The pettiness of the act had nothing on how petty the original caster must have been to lock another magical Being away like an unwanted toy.

Without the magic holding it shut, the door immediately fell open. A body followed it, having been propped up against it. Blaise fell to her knees beside the shivering girl who was gasping for breath. The lace on the bodice of her nightgown made a quiet scratching noise against Blaise's robes as the girl clung desperately to her rescuer. Familiar with the signs of someone suffering a panic attack (as one quickly became if they were friends with Tracey), Blaise carefully pulled the girl against her torso with her head nestled between Blaise's breasts.

Then she proceeded to run her fingers through the other girl's pale hair. Gently, she worked out as many tangles as she could without resorting to an actual brush or comb. Blaise also hummed quietly as she rocked her newest foundling—for a part of her knew already that this stranger would now become important to her, in the same way that she knew when the tides were changing despite being so far from any ocean or sea.

"Sah-sorry," the girl gasped after several long moments. Her breathing was still rough, even if it did seem to be coming just a bit easier than when Blaise had first found her. Blaise gently shushed her before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She smelled of something delicately floral with just a trace of rosemary (which Blaise would recognize anywhere, as it reminded her of ocean cliffs covered in the clinging shrubbery). "It's—it's the dark. And the-the small spah-space. I can never—can never breathe in them."

"Your apologies are not required," Blaise told her simply. It had the benefit of being the truth. Whatever circumstances led to her having the Ravenclaw in her arms, it was clear that it was not the other girl's fault. Someone had deliberately locked her in that cupboard, likely knowing exactly how badly the girl would react to her imprisonment. With the otherness flavoring the blonde's magic, Blaise could not help but see the bigotry in this act, despite not knowing exactly what bigotry had been the seed.

"I'm Luna," the girl whispered. She still hadn't made any motion like she wanted to pull away. The warmth from that bit of trust helped to balance the fiery rage coursing through Blaise at the sudden recognition of the girl.

Of course, it was the strange Ravenclaw from the year after her. The scandal of the spare Malfoy heir being disowned because he had wedded a foreign witch of unknown blood status had been legendary for all that it had happened before Blaise's birth. Dione had come from a Grecian island that had the similar legends surrounding it as the British Avalon did—that some powerful wix had taken it behind a Veil in order to protect the magical inhabitants from a serious threat. Living in a place outside the world and so drenched in magic left its mark on a body, even long after leaving it. Such marks being passed from parent to child was not uncommon.

"I'm Blaise," she whispered back without letting any of her protective fury leak into her voice. She had never understood Daphne's insistence that she had just known that Tracey was the one within moments of meeting her. At that moment, with Luna curled against her and still occasionally gasping for breath quietly, Blaise finally understood.

And silently Blaise vowed to make Luna's bullies pay for the injustice they had shown her.


	59. Adaptation

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Do you know how hard it is to not give into the urge to be in the "present scene"? But some stories really just want to be written in the more global sense.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Death's Inevitable Master; Sett to Destroy; Seeds; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes (Y); Advice from the Mug; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Letter of the Day; Tiny Terror; Flags & Ribbons; Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 2  
**Subject (Task No.):** Amulets & Talismans (Task#7: Write about someone with vision problems or someone who is blind.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [809] (No Dialogue); 365 [70] (Depend)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [2D] (Vigil/Mass)**  
Representation(s):** blind Harry Potter; autistic Harry Potter; Desi Harry Potter  
**Bonus Challenges: **Lettuce Hold Hands; Second Verse (Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts; Corvid Brain; Hot Apple; Bad Beans; Under the Bridge); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Eternal Boredom; Abandoned Ship; Sitting Hummingbird; Hot Stuff)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Tether); SN (Rail; Negate); O3 (Oust); SHoE (Terse; Onus); DP (Terse; Taciturn; Yearn)  
**Word Count:** 965

(^^)  
**Adaptation**  
(^^)

Harry had adapted to the darkness. He hadn't had much of a choice about that. The doctors had been very clear that there was nothing that could be done to restore his sight. Maybe if he hadn't been so malnourished when the accident happened, things would have been different. By that same line of thinking, if Dudley hadn't chased him into traffic, things would be different.

He didn't dare think about how different things would be if his relatives hadn't hated him or if his parents hadn't died. No matter what anyone told him, he still had trouble believing that he hadn't deserved the way they had treated him. It didn't help that occasionally he would have dreams filled with laughter and green light that left him with the distinct feeling that he had lost everything.

He didn't like thinking too much about the _what-if_ of things. It was better to just adapt to whatever came his way, to go with the flow while making the best of everything. It was better to be quiet and never draw too much attention to himself. It had worked well while he had lived with the Dursleys, and there had been no reason why it shouldn't have worked in the group home that he had been sent to after the accident.

He was already good at not asking questions or for help. It had been surprisingly easy to learn how to translate the strange bumps of Brail into the letters that he was mastered before he had even started school. The switch also helped him hide the scope of his reading, because the casual observer could no longer tell what the topic of his book was or what language it was. Learning to navigate on his own was a bit harder, but thankfully, no one in the group home wanted to steal his stick or went out of their way to make anything more dangerous for each other.

The strange events that had happened occasionally at the Dursleys' seemed to be a thing of the past. Harry couldn't help the sense of freedom he felt whenever the memory of them crossed his mind. They had haunted him while he had lived there, making every day seem like a pointless struggle for survival because how could he ever hope to be normal so long as the freakishness followed him?

Only after the accident had taken his sight had he ever saw himself as potentially being normal.

After being hit by that car, Harry had spent a full month in the hospital. A week of that had been in a coma. The doctors all said that he should have been dead. In fact, he had apparently died on the table for long enough that the lead surgeon had actually declared a time of death. Then he had just came back but had slipped into the coma. Aunt Petunia had been more than willing to have him taken off life support, too.

Her inability to hide her feeling of glee at the thought of his death along with her loud rejection of the idea that she sit vigil by his bedside had been the reason for the report to Child Protective Services. The agency had immediately begun poking around Privet Drive and the private affairs of the Dursley household. Harry didn't know exactly why they had been upset to find out where he slept and how the Dursleys had treated him, but then again, his caseworker seemed convinced that no one deserved to be routinely locked in cupboards, no matter how many rules they had broken.

By the time Harry had been released from the hospital, the paperwork had gone through to remove him from the Dursleys' house. Apparently, there had been some issues with the way that he had come to be there at all. His caseworker was still trying to track down his parents' will or even a death certificate for them. All she could find was birth certificates and primary school records for his mother.

Not that Harry was supposed to know that, of course. He only knew because he had overheard his caseworker updating the woman in charge of the group home. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop. He had just been passing by the office while his caseworker had been visiting and heard his name. If they didn't hear him walking down the hall, it wasn't his fault.

Yeah, the other kids always walked louder than he did.

Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have stayed to listen when he realized that they were talking about him.

But he liked it at the group home, and he needed to know if that was going to change. He also had to know if the freakishness had started to creep back in. He was finally free of it, free from the need to explain away the inexplicable. He had already paid with his ability to see.

Now he just had to keep it.

So Harry adapted to the darkness that was his life now. He adapted to living in a group home where he had learned yet another language but now didn't have to worry about people noticing what he was reading from across the room. He had adapted to not being expected to do all the chores around the facility. He still didn't ask more questions than he absolutely needed to, preferring to do his own research before going to others (and then only when he absolutely needed to). He went out of his way to not annoy anyone, especially those who were in charge of his placement. He bit back every bit of sass or cheek that came to mind.

He had adapted to his new status quo.

He had adapted to the darkness.

He had adapted.

He _had_.


	60. Over the Moon

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This is a weird fic. I recently reread something that I had written last April for the Hogwarts Auction due to a comment left on the AO3 posting of it. It was a Hermione/Lily fic involving time travel. So that fic was on my mind when I sat down to write about an entirely different kind of commitment (I was planning a handfasting), and so you got Hermione committed to actually giving up her life in the present for her trip to the past. You don't have to read that other fic to understand what is going on here, but if you're interested, it's in this collection under the name _Time is Not a Division_.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Sapphic Bribery; Fore-Touch; Clowder; The Ties That Bind; Starry Nights; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC (x2); Brush; Summer Vacation; Seeds; Shipmas; Time is Relative; No Proof; Times to Come; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Location, Location, Location; Themes & Things A [Love]; Everyone's Cousin; Lovely Triangle; Advice from the Mug; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Booger Breath; Booger Breath Rider; Letter of the Day; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y); Two Cakes!; Green Ribbon  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Beauty Therapy (Task#4: Write about someone making a commitment.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [44] (Community); 365 [72] (Devoted); Gwen's Candy Shop [3](Desi Character); Baking King Cakes [Step 1] (Green)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [1C] (Star)**  
Representation(s):** pre-Hermione/Lily/James; Desi Potters; Black Hermione; Autistic Harry; Molly Weasley Adopts All the Children & Reaps All the Grandbabies  
**Bonus Challenges: **Misshapen Pods; Yarnspinner; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Clio's Conclusion; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Bad Beans; Under the Bridge; Where Angels Fear; Esbat; Red Night); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Rediscovery; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Unicorn; Wind Beneath; Abandoned Ship; Surprise!; Infinity; Messing with Morlocks; Turtle-Duck; Sitting Hummingbird; Some Beach; Strange Potatoes)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (Amaranth); FR (Liberation; Satisfaction); O3 (Oath); HoSE (Schooner); SS (Schooner; Seduce); SHoE (Brood; Oblique); AD (Archery)  
**Word Count:** 1071

(^^)  
**Over the Moon**  
(^^)

Hermione knitted by the light of the orb floating above her camp chair. The pale wood of her needles shown against her dark brown skin, glowing in the combination of her orb and the full moon hanging even farther above her. The field around her was filled with the raucous noise that accompanied having so many Weasleys in the same place and the gentle flashes of fireflies that many of them were chasing. The years since the end of the war had been good to the entirety of magical community, but the Weasleys had been especially lucky. They had made it through without losing a single family member, a feat in itself when so many of them had been on the front lines, and then most of them had met their soulmates to boot.

There had a slew of weddings and bond ceremonies that first year. Now, nearly three years afterwards, Molly Weasley was practically drowning in grandchildren. Between having seven children and then practically adopting several more (Hermione included), it made for a lot of potential offspring, even if some of those children had ended up in relationships where parenthood had to be more planned.

Not that having to plan for children had managed to stop Percy or the twins any. Percy and Oliver had already had a surrogate carry one child for them and who had expressed interest in at least one more. Fred and George had ended up bonding with their mutual soulmate who was no other than Draco Malfoy. While the Weasleys had been lucky, the Malfoys had not been. Among the deaths had been both of Draco's parents and Throckmorton Malfoy, Draco's uncle. Throckmorton had left behind a newborn son whose mother had died in childbirth. With no other family to care for the baby, Draco was raising Scorpius as his own, and the twins were equally devoted to the tiny trickster.

The real surprise (at least to Molly, because no one who attended Hogwarts with both of them had expected otherwise) had been Harry and Ginny hadn't been soulmates. Not that the two hadn't ended up being close—sometimes they were better friends than she, Ron, and Harry were, which was saying something—but in the end, they hadn't been soulmates. Harry had married Luna within weeks of the Battle of Hogwarts. Not to be out done, Ginny had scandalized her parents by running away to the Continent with both Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, only to return a year and half later bonded to both men and expecting their first child. Molly and Ginny had an epic row while most of the family watched.

It had only ended when Charlie had arrived all the way from Romania with three dragonets dressed in onesies that he tried to pass off as his own children.

Molly had given up entirely and decided to go lie down.

At least Charlie's dragons were better house-trained than Norberta had been. As if aware that Hermione had been thinking of them, there's a burst of fire into the sky that is accompanied by the delighted shrieks of human children. When the light of the flames fade, the stars overhead seem to twinkle just a bit more brightly as if taking up a challenge. Hermione didn't set aside her knitting to go check on things.

"I remember when you would have been over there supervising," Harry said as he dropped onto the ground by her feet. His tone had gone flat, a sign that he was probably pushing his limits on socialization, but she knew he wasn't judging her. It had taken seeing him with Luna for Hermione to finally understand some things that had nagged at her over the years. But then Harry was much better at pretending he was neurotypical than Luna was, a fact that never failed to make Hermione want to transfigure certain Muggles into bugs and squish them.

"Maybe I grew up," Hermione replied. Harry gave her an unimpressed look that made her blush. She set aside her knitting finally. "Or maybe I just want to bask in the chaos of my last family gathering."

"Maybe it's not your last," Harry whispered. He laid his head against her knee. His dark face seemed even darker against her pale blue skirt. "Maybe you'll have lots in the future, and we'll have a blast trying to figure how to explain to my best friend why she is also one of my mothers."

"We don't know how much of the past is inevitable, Harry," she reminded him. "Just because we know how to find soulmates through time and how to get them into the past, well, it doesn't mean that the past is mutable or to what degree. The technology is still untested."

What she was saying was true. They knew that the technology was sound. It would do what they wanted it to do: send an individual to the past for the expressed purpose of meeting their soulmate. As wonderful as that sounded, there was really no way of telling if they could change the past or to what degree. The return journey would have to be done through the natural course of time. Inevitability and paradox were going to be their greatest obstacles in this endeavor.

Harry had taken to the idea that his best friend should have been his mother's match better than Hermione would have thought. With no one left who was close enough to have the details, the question of if Lily had also been matched with James Potter (and Hermione just wasn't) remained unanswered. They didn't even know if James and Lily would be willing to allow some stranger to join their relationship (though Hermione would never admit to Harry just how interesting she found both elder Potters). There were a lot of unanswered questions in this project.

"I have faith that it will all work out," Harry whispered. Over their heads, the lunar eclipse they had been waiting for started, casting a bloody shade across the face of the full moon. The transition was ominous, despite Harry's hopeful words. Hermione started petting his curls like she would Crookshanks and buried her unease under his confidence.

Leaps of faith had never been her strong suit.

She was still committed to jumping.

And the next day, under the reassuringly steady gaze of her best friend and hopefully soon adopted son, Hermione did just that.


	61. Effe You Very Much

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Go listen to what I have determined is Sirius Black's theme song: "Fuck You Very Much" by Lily Allen. It's a bop. Btw, yes, the seizures I describe Hermione as having are a real disorder, and they suck _because _you can only treat them like panic attacks even though they have a bunch of the same causes as epileptic seizures (plus everything that can trigger panic attacks, so double fun). Oh, and head's up for Hermione & Harry both knowing BSL with enough fluency to handle an argument. Unfortunately, the narrator (Remus) is not nearly as fluent, so you don't know what she's saying exactly. In addition to my standard Desi & autistic Harry, have some more Black Hermione.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Cuppa; Clowder; No Heterosexual Explanation; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC (x7); Trio of Gold; Bow Before the Blacks; Sett to Destroy; Order, Order; Unaccompanied Minors; Seeds; Shipmas; No Proof; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes; Advice from the Mug; Ethnic & Present (x2); Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Letter of the Day; Booger Breath; Booger Breath Rider; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Beauty Therapy (Task#3: Write a fic inspired by the phrase "Hold your head high.")  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [28] (Charming); 365 [112] (Foolish); Gwen's Candy Shop [1](Seizures); Baking King Cakes [Step Two] (Pecans)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [1A] (Mistletoe)**  
Representation(s):** Sirius/Ginny; Ron/Hermione; Soul Marks; Desi/Autistic Harry; Black Hermione; Remus Lupin; Order as Family  
**Bonus Challenges: **Gingersnap; Misshapen Pods; Fruit Fly; Sweetest Burn; Second Verse (Under the Bridge; Dog Star; Hot Apple; Muck & Slime; Grease Monkey; Younger You; Trickster's Union; Lovely Coconuts; For the Vine; Car in a Tutu; Unwanted Advice; Spinning Plates; Mother Hen; Zucchini Bread; Nontraditional; Found Family; White Dress; Persistence Still; Not a Lamp; Ladylike); Chorus (Hot Stuff; Jet Fuel; Turtle-Duck; In the Trench; Abandoned Ship; Unicorn; Larger than Life; Tomorrow's Shade; Mouth of Babes; Peddling Pots; Machismo; Fizzy Lemonade; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Liberation; Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); HoSE (Schooner; Caprice); RoIL (Satisfaction; Exuviation); SHoE (Terse; Brood); AD (Amphibian)  
**Word Count:** 678

(^^)  
**Effe You Very Much**  
(^^)

As ideas went, this had been the most foolish one they had ever done. To make it worse, Harry was downright defiant about being scolded. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the migraine he felt coming. For all that Harry was practically the spitting image of his father, there were times when Lily shone through like a light that refused to be hidden. She would have been just as proud as James about how Harry refused to be shamed for having first plotted how to completely reverse all the damage that Azkaban had wrought upon Sirius and then having executed said plot successfully.

None of that solved the issue of suddenly having to deal with a teenaged Sirius Black eating chocolate covered blackberry jammy dodgers while flirting outrageously with both Ginny and Ron Weasley. Cups of weak tea sat in front of the three. (Sirius never could manage to figure out how to properly seep the leaves.) Hermione looked about as happy with the situation as Dora would be when she realized that all her biscuits had gone missing while she was at work. Ginny, on the other hand, was responding to Sirius' charms with flirting of her own.

If Dora didn't kill him for letting all this happen, then Molly surely would.

Hermione slammed her book onto the kitchen table, clearly having reached her limit on how much she could endure. However, instead of dragging Ron away from Sirius' flirting, the girl turned on Harry with a fury worthy of a veela. Remus couldn't understand what she was signing so aggressively at the boy. Mostly because her dark hands were moving too fast for his vague fluency with BSL—it honestly looked like she was about to have another of her seizures. She tended to have one when her emotions got the best of her, sort of like a panic attack locking up the lungs. Whatever it was seemed to finally be getting through to Harry, judging by the flushing of his sienna-colored face.

"Look," Harry said aloud and clearly unrepentant despite his words, "I didn't know he had a thing for redheads, okay? It wasn't like we've discussed crushes!"

"Did you discuss anything before brewing that potion?" Remus interjected before Hermione actually gave into the visible urge to hit the boy. "Such as, just off the top of my head, how long will we be dealing with a sixteen-year-old Sirius Black?"

"It's permanent, but he was supposed to be twenty," Harry explained with a nervous look at Hermione's head. Her curls had started frizzing out of the protective twists she had put them in just that morning. Remus knew from teaching magical children that it was probably her magic responding to her emotions. "I might have, uh, stirred too many times or something."

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed, drawing their attention back to the other side of the table. Sirius had his shirt rucked up to under his chin, showing off the sprig of mistletoe over his heart that was his soulmark. What caught all of their eyes was the matching mark on Ginny's freckled left arm. "Mum's gonna be so mad."

"I'm good at winning over parents," Sirius reassured them all. Remus knew that was true. Sirius had even won over Lyall Lupin, whose hatred for all things considered dark was as well-known as Dumbledore's love of lemon sherbets. It was very hard to not love Sirius, especially when he was trying to be charming. "She's going to love me."

"Sirius, it's not going to be that simple," Remus tried to explain. "This is going to end in disaster. Just like that time when you and Prongs decided to see if chocolate affected Animagus forms the same way as regular dogs."

"Oh, come on," Sirius whined, "that was hardly even a problem at all, let alone a disaster."

"There wouldn't be _any _problems if you just listened!"

"Nope, not listening any longer," Sirius countered. He pointed dramatically at Remus. "You went and got old, Moony. The only way you can repay that betrayal is to help me woo my soulmate."

"You mean, her mother?"

"Well, her, too," Sirius agreed with a roguish grin. Remus sighed and wondered if there was any hard liquor left in the place. He had a sudden realization that he was much too sober to deal with this.


	62. A Horse That Will Never Die

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Have I mentioned that I really don't like Thorne's play? How much do I hate, you ask? Let me count the ways: 1 Ace Scorpius Malfoy; 1 Lesbian Rose Weasley; and 0 people named after child abusers. For those of you still planning on reading this, Sigune Wood is Oliver Wood's daughter that he raised with Percy, and since I'm on a roll with Black Hermione, guess who is also Black?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Clowder; No Heterosexual Explanation; Fluent in Sarcasm; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC (x2); Ravenclaw MC; No Proof; Times to Come; Old Shoes; The 3rd Rule; Ethnic & Present; Booger Breath; Booger Breath Rider; Rian-Russo Inversion; Letter of the Day; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Forestry (Task#1: Write about someone in the LGBTQplus Community.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [283] (Scorpius Malfoy); 365 [263] (Reliable); Gwen's Candy Shop [4](Asexual); Baking King Cakes [Step Three] (Fresh Fruit & Toasted Nuts)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [4C] (Coins)**  
Representation(s):** Rose/Scorpius/OFC QPR; Asexual Scorpius; Lesbian Rose; Black Rose & Black OFC; Weasleys & their Adopted Strays  
**Bonus Challenges: **Misshapen Pods; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Broom's Only; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Muck & Slime; Under the Bridge); Chorus (Fizzy Lemonade; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Land of Enchantment; Sailor Take Warning)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** FR (Liberation; Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); AD (Assumption); TY (Avasa)  
**Word Count:** 963

(^^)  
**A Horse That Will Never Die**  
(^^)

The trip was supposed to be a celebration of finally gaining their respective masteries. Scorpius Malfoy had been dragged to this magic-forsaken place by Rose Weasley and Sigune Wood. They were supposed to be his best friends, but right at that moment, he had his doubts. This was clearly some drawn out plan to torture him to death by roasting him alive. They knew that he had a delicate complexion and yet here they were in the absolute worst place for someone as pale as him.

They were clearly evil.

"Take a whiff of this beautiful day," Rose ordered as she flung open the balcony doors for their shared suite. Scorpius hissed at the source of hideous sunlight and burrowed under his covers. Nearby—too close for comfort—he heard Sigune snicker. Then his covers were yanked off of him faster than he could muster an adequate defense. "Up and at 'em, rich boy. We've got a lot of sights to see and only a week to see them."

"There's apparently cacti that walk here," Sigune announced. Scorpius opened one eye to glare at her. She was sitting cross-legged on her own bed with brochures spread out in front of her. Her fingers were occupied twisting her hair into many tiny buns as her dark eyes looked over their options. Into each bun, she worked in a small charm with three coins that tinkled merrily with even the slightest movement. "There's also rocks that create musical sounds when tapped. There's a couple of museums in the area, too."

"I've already talked to the receptionist," Rose said as she started packing a satchel with items she had laid out on _her_ bed. "He recommends the diner down the street for breakfast. Apparently, the cook who habitually works the mornings is an expat from our side of the pond. They don't have normal breakfast foods on the menu, but we should be able to get Scorp' some tomatoes to go with his sausage. That should improve his mood some."

"After breakfast, we should check do the outdoors stuff. Better to do that stuff earlier than later, especially with how easily Scorpius burns. He'll get unbearably grumpy in the heat anyway. No reason to worsen it by letting him get hurt."

"You are aware that I can hear you, right? Like, I'm right here, listening to every word you are saying right now."

"Ro', our gay baby is whining," Sigune said dryly, still mostly focused on putting her hair into a protective style. "Chivvy him out of bed so we can get him fed?"

"I'm not a baby," Scorpius grumbled even as he took the hint that he wasn't going to get out of it. Tomatoes and sausage did sound good. "And I'm not gay."

"Uh, honey," Rose said, "you may not be gay, but you sure ain't straight." He looked up from shuffling through his suitcase. She must have read the confusion on his face because she shook her head, sending her ruddy curls bouncing in every direction. "You have shared a one-room flat with us for three years, Scorp'. Not once have you looked at either of us like you wanted to sleep with us, not even during the Shower Incident—"

"We don't talk about the Shower Incident," Scorpius and Sigune interrupted in unison. Rose rolled her eyes and continued her explanation.

"The point is that you also don't look at any _other_ fem presenting people like you want to sleep with them either. As a healthy male presenting twenty-year-old, that's not a sign of straightness." Rose made a flourish with her hands that was so French, she could only have picked it up from her Aunt Fleur. "Ergo, the catchall phrase of _gay_, at least until you tell us differently."

"He might just prefer _queer_, Ro'. It's more academic, after all."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at the subtle dig towards his past as a Ravenclaw. It was what he got for hanging out with _Gryffindors_. Not that the Sorting Hat was ever going to put a Weasley (even by adoption) anywhere else. It was practically tradition at this point, and his Aunt Daphne had a point about tradition being peer pressure from the dead.

"Do you discuss my sexuality much?"

"Only when we think you're pinning," Sigune answered, finally finishing the last mini bun.

"Or if we've been drinking," Rose amended with a proud spread of her arms.

"Oh, so at least once a week, great," Scorpius groused. He was silent for a moment before deciding to just say what he had been thinking about for a while. "I don't, you know, think of sleeping with anyone."

"Not ever?"

"Not ever," he confirmed with a shrug. "I just never really felt the whatever it is that makes Rose pant after anyone wearing a skirt—"

"That's not true," Rose objected. Both Scorpius and Sigune gave her unimpressed looks, making her dark face flush even more. "I do not pant. It would be rude." There was a beat of silence. "Also, she doesn't have to be wearing a skirt. Pants work, too. Though, ideally, she won't be wearing anything long."

"_A one-bedroom flat_," Scorpius reminded Rose. Sigune snickered despite having caught Rose in the middle of at least as many seductions as Scorpius had. Rose's unpredictable attempts to woo every lady would humor her at all were annoyingly reliable. "You _pant_."

"When did this turn into Pick on Rose Day?"

"About the time we figured out that Scorpius isn't attracted to any gender," Sigune said with a grin. "We have an asexual baby." Scorpius' stomach growled loud enough to be heard throughout the room. Sigune laughed again. "And he's hungry, love."

"I hate you both," Scorpius groaned.

"No, you don't," they replied together.


	63. Everything Needed & Left Over

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Albus did not want to be in this fic. You know how teenagers are, always planning to remake the world in the image of what they deem best. Also, yes, I did not use any othering format for the sign language used here. Why would I?

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Clowder; Love Language; Gryffindor MC (x2); Sett to Destroy; Unaccompanied Minors; Seeds; No Proof; Buzzing Bee; Predate; Booger Breath; Booger Breath Rider; Disabled; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Muggle Culture (Task#2: Write about someone with a sweet tooth.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [162] (Laughing); 365 [145] (Horror); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 1](Deaf/HoH); Baking King Cakes [Step Two](Beans)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [1B] (Family)**  
Representation(s):** Dumbledores; deaf Ariana  
**Bonus Challenges: **Fruit Fly; Horrible Love; Misshapen Pods; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Nontraditional; Unwanted Advice; Muck & Slime; Under the Bridge); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Hot Stuff)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Tether); SN (Rail; Spare); SHoE (Oblique); TY (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 703

(^^)  
**Everything Needed & Left Over**  
(^^)

Aberforth helped Ariana measure the ingredients for the filling they were making, carefully reading the instructions listed in their mother's cookbook to make sure that they didn't forget anything. Behind them, Aberforth could hear Albus grumbling over his studying, being at the kitchen table being his compromise for this endeavor. The eldest Dumbledore child had not approved of the plan to bake their mother a pie for her birthday. He had wanted to buy her a trinket from the Muggle knickknack shop in town and be done with it.

Albus had only agreed to the location compromise when Ariana had taken to refusing to look at him if they happen to be in the same room. Her hearing had been one of many losses from when those Muggle boys had attacked her. Thus, her refusing to look at Albus had locked him out of communication with her. Not that Albus didn't do a good enough job of that already. Albus couldn't be bothered to turn his 'prodigious genius' to learning sign language like Aberforth and their mother had. He was always too caught up in the latest inquiry for transfiguration or the new application of old charms.

Arianna jumped in place excitedly, drawing Aberforth's attention back to her. The thirteen-year-old grinned at him before sticking her finger into the sticky mixture of blackberries and sugar. She licked her stolen bite off her finger before reaching for the book to verify that they were still on task. A moment later, she tugged insistently on Aberforth's sleeve.

"What?" Aberforth signed only to sneezed when he accidentally breathed in flour.

Ariana laughed. The sound of it filled the kitchen, echoing like a shout. Even as she laughed, she signed out the next step. Her motions were jerky from how she was bobbing up and down in place like an apple in a barrel. He couldn't help the smile on his face at her exuberance. Too often, the awareness of how different she was from everyone (Muggle and magic alike) made Ariana sullen and irritable. Seeing her this happy would be as much a gift to their mother as the pie. Ariana smirked as she stole another fingerful of filling.

"Such a sweet tooth," Aberforth scolded, adding a flourish to the signs just to make Ariana giggle again. Albus made a noise of discontent before slamming his book shut. Aberforth winced at the unpleasant shriek his chair made as he stood.

"I really do need to study," Albus announced, his voice cutting through the fading echo of Ariana's laughter. His blue eyes sparked with something that Aberforth couldn't begin to name. Then again, Albus had always been the most like how Aberforth remembered their father being. Albus had _plans_. Albus had _goals_. Albus wanted more than the life they had all built in Godric's Hollow after the attack on Ariana and then Papa's revenge on her attackers. "It's my NEWTs year, Abe. I cannot afford to slack off just because you want to play games with Ariana."

Then Albus stormed out of the kitchen, presumably to go to either his room or the library.

Ariana tugged on Aberforth's sleeve. Her eyes were pleading as she signed her question. Aberforth just gave her a small smile and directed her back to their attempt at making a pie. There was no way that he would ever burden her with the knowledge of how Albus felt about her—the things he had said about how Papa should never have overreacted like he had or how the wizarding world needed something the sanitariums that the Muggles had. What truly worried Aberforth was the comment about how there needed to be a way to remove magic from those who could not be trained, if only for the greater good. Albus liked to talk about what the greater good needed, and Aberforth dreaded the day that Albus found someone willing to listen to the ideas at length.

Aberforth pushed away the foreboding sense of pending horror and focused on keeping Ariana from eating all of the blackberry filling they had just made. Those were tomorrow's problems, and he would deal with them tomorrow. Right then, he had everything that he could possibly need.


	64. Wasn't Me

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Additionally, there is sexist, racist, and transphobic beliefs along with plans to violate personal autonomy via nonconsensual drug (potion) use. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Severus Snape is a very gross kind of unreliable narrator. Please remember what kind of people become Nazis and take this kind of behavior as warning signs. If you are any kind of fan of Severus Snape, this fic is not for you.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Rainbow Focus; More than England; Potions Aren't Consent; Feast; Clowder; Fluent in Sarcasm; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC (x4); Slytherin MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Sett to Destroy; Brush; Unaccompanied Minors; Seeds; Shipmas; Ways to the Heart; No Proof; Obstinate, Headstrong Girl; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes (Y); Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Gender? Who That?; Hold the Mayo; Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; No Punny Business; Two Cakes!; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Ancient Studies (Task#1: Write about unrequited love/infatuation.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [883] (Amortentia); 365 [195] (Love); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 2](Synesthesia – Taste/Colors); Baking King Cakes [Step Three](Cream Cheese)(Powdered Sugar/Cocoa)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [1D] (Evergreen); Winter Medium 2 (Ceramic Mug)**  
Representation(s):** James/Lily; the Marauders as family; unrequited Severus/Lily; Black Lily Evans with Synesthesia  
**Bonus Challenges: **Fruit Fly; These Boots; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Muck & Slime; Casper's House; Hot Apple; Under the Bridge; Lettuce Hold Hands; Over the Hills); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Turtle-Duck; Sitting Hummingbird; Soul-Like; Hot Stuff)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Intercept); FR (Liberation); O3 (Oust); TY (Enfant); SHoE (Brood); DP (Yearn)  
**Word Count:** 1305

(^^)  
**Wasn't Me**  
(^^)

Severus Snape stirred the potion he was brewing carefully. It wouldn't do to ruin the brew and waste the precious ingredients that he had been pilfering from the student cupboard for the last three months. That was not even considering the few ingredients that he had to smuggle into the school. Ashwinder eggs were not cheap either, and it had taken a while to earn the galleons to purchase them. Unfortunately, the eggs were a vital part of all love potions, Amortentia most of all.

He did wish that it hadn't come to this.

Severus loved Lily. She was precious to him, a beautiful bright spot in his otherwise dreary life. She was his ebony goddess, his African queen. Of course, he loved her, even when she was trying his patience like she currently was. He had given her plenty of time to calm down about his little slip of the tongue after their OWLs. She was normally more willing to be reasonable about things like that. After all, it wasn't like he truly held her heritage against her. She couldn't help it any more than he could.

But this time, she didn't take back her cruel fit of temper. This time, she started associating more with those blasted _Marauders_, even if she kept Pettigrew at arms' length. Not that Lupin and Black were much better, of course. He had even heard a rumor about Black disgracing his family by going around in dresses and how that was the real reason that the Blacks had thrown him out. Yet Lily seemed to have befriended the defect. Why, she had even started dating Potter, as if she had not already punished Severus enough!

Glancing down at his cauldron, Severus saw that the potion had thickened to the correct amount. It had also taken on a uniformed color that was the exact shade of Lily's green eyes. The scent rising from the brew reminded him of the boxwood hedges that surrounded the park where he had met Lily. He smiled wanly at the memory of hiding among those evergreen bushes while he watched Lily argue with her much paler sister about showing just how powerful a witch Lily was.

No one appreciated Lily like he did. He was actually doing her a favor by giving her this nudge—and that was all he was doing here. He was slipping her the bit of Amortentia as a reminder of things, that was all. He knew that Lily loved him just like he loved her.

She just needed to be reminded of that.

(^^)

The first thing that Lily noticed as odd was the slightest bit of gold in the flavor of her coffee. She frowned but quickly dismissed it. It could be anything, even something as simple as a new house elf taking charge of brewing the coffee for the Gryffindor table. That had always been something she hated about her sensory cross. Tasting colors sounded fun and exciting until one realized just how annoyingly sensitive it can be.

Coffee, for example, should be a uniform royal purple. Adding cream lighted the shade just like it lightened the color of the coffee itself. Sweeteners had many different effects depending on what they were. Her favorite sweetener was honey, which made these tiny bursts of silver dance across her tongue. Coffee made with magic (or really, any food made with magic) tended to have traces of whatever color the creator would taste like if Lily was to lick their skin. So having her coffee suddenly taste a bit gold wasn't anything concerning.

"Good morning, O blossom of my heart," James said as he settled into a spot next to her. He immediately reached for the oatmeal to serve himself a portion, just like he did every morning. Out of habit, she passed him the serving bowl of mixed berries, just like she did every morning. Sitting down her mug, she turned to meet James in the same chaste kiss they shared every morning.

And promptly gagged.

"Oh, god," she muttered through clenched teeth as she battled the urge to vomit. The trace of gold from before felt like it was exploding through her. Her mind screamed in protest as the urge to grab onto James and never let go violently conflicted with the sudden desire to do the same with Severus Snape, despite how their friendship had been brutally murdered by his bigotry. The gold snarled as it fought within her. "Oh, gods, I can't—I'm going to—"

She barely twisted enough to spill the contents of her stomach onto the floor between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables instead of over the table or James. Tears streamed down her face from the force of it. She was barely aware of what was happening around her, sensing only a flurry of movement past the sickly yellow from the bile taste lingering in her mouth. As her stomach continued its attempt to turn itself inside out, the only thing that kept her from falling into the sick was a pair of strong arms and the soft scent of English ivy that could only belong to Sirius.

"Unhand my girlfriend right now, _mutt_," Severus snarled nearby. Lily shuddered at his words and pressed closer to Sirius. She just felt so sick and to make matters worse, having Severus so close made the gold thrash like a wild beast demanding its due. "She needs _me_."

"She's not _your_ girlfriend, Snivellous," James responded hotly. "She's _my_ girlfriend. And the only thing she needs is to see Madam Pomfrey. This is not natural."

"Maybe she's just finally realized who she loves more," Severus snapped. "Go on. Ask her. Lily, don't you love me?"

"She _hates_ you—"

"I do," Lily choked out, fighting back a sob. She hiccupped instead. "God help me. I love him so much."

"See?" Severus gloated. Lily buried her face into Sirius' shoulder as Sirius' fingers played with the thick twists near the back of her head. "She _loves_ me, Potter. Call off your mutts and give me my girlfriend."

"What did you do to her?" Remus growled from across the table. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing, _mutt_," Severus argued, putting enough stress on the insult for Lily to realize, even as sick as she still felt, that he had to know about Remus being a werewolf. "I would never hurt Lily. I love her." Lily felt like throwing up again. "Don't be a sore loser, Potter. The better man _always_ wins in the end."

"Lily, I'm gonna hex your _boyfriend_ until he agrees to break up. Hope you don't mind," James said. Just the sound of his voice in that tender tone made her shiver like she had decided to take a dip in the Black Lack during January. "Sirius, get her to the Hospital Wing. Remus—"

"I'm backing you up, Prongs," Remus interrupted in a dry tone. "Lily would have my head if I let you duel in the Great Hall in front of all and sundry by yourself, and frankly, she scares me more than you."

"Damn skippy," Lily confirmed weakly as Sirius scooped her up and stood in a single motion. She felt like a puppet that had had its strings cut. Through it all, the gold from before ripped into her.

"Did you know," Sirius said conversationally as he carried her towards the stairs, "that Amortentia can make someone sick if they're already completely in love with the one that Magic designed for them?"

"You don't say," Lily drawled. She just wanted the freaking colors to go away already. She could almost physically feel Sirius about to make some kind of pun that would be wildly inappropriate for their current situation.

"Guess that makes you love-sick, huh?"

God, she hated being right.


	65. The Strongest Among You

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also talk of canon typical violence and exactly one character death (it's a random Death Eater). Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So I came across the idea of "guerilla gardening", and well, I couldn't _not_ have the Hogwarts Resistance do it for reasons other than beautification. Oh, and it's small, but Rolanda is nonbinary in this & uses "they/them" pronouns.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Rainbow Focus; More than England; Sapphic Bribery; Cete; No Heterosexual Explanation; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC (x2); Slytherin MC; 3rd Rule Bribery (HP Edition) (Y); Poly Bribery; Seeds; Shipmas; No Proof; Golden Times; Interesting Times; Old Shoes (Y); The 3rd Rule; Lovely Triangle; Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Gender? Who That?; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Public Services (Task#3: Write about a hands-on experience.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [24] (Petrichor); 365 [126] (Goosebumps); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 2](Anxiety); Baking King Cakes [Step Two](Peas)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [3A] (Nuts/Seeds); Winter Big (Secret Relationship)**  
Representation(s):** Neville Longbottom with Anxiety; Heavens & Earth (Sprout/Hooch/Sinestra); Black Aurora Sinestra; Nonbinary Rolanda Hooch; Hogwarts Resistance  
**Bonus Challenges: **Sweetest Burn; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Broom's Only; Car in a Tutu; Clio's Conclusion; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts; Muck & Slime; Rock of Ages; Casper's House; Corvid Brain; Hot Apple; Under the Bridge; Where Angels Fear; Over the Hills); Chorus (Endless Wonder; Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn; Wind Beneath; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Surprise!; Infinity; Turtle-Duck; Call Me Dantes; Sitting Hummingbird; Some Beach)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail); LiCK (Amaranth; Yarrow); FR (n/a); O3 (Oath); SS (Schooner; Shadow); RoIL (Workstation); FIN (Ensanguine; Imprecate); AD (Association); DP (Terse)  
**Word Count:** 685

(^^)  
**The Strongest Among You**  
(^^)

Neville watched carefully as Professor Sprout rolled the loam and flour mixture into balls no bigger than a snitch. Beside the Herbology professor, Hooch was rolling the created balls gently over the trays of seeds that had been as carefully chosen as runes in the ward arrays of Hogwarts. The smell of petrichor was strong in the air. Instead of choking him, it laid on the back of his throat like a war cry.

"Will you take over for Ro', Neville?" Sprout asked. She tilted her head towards her partner, as if Neville didn't already know that _Ro_ was short for _Rolanda_. Either way, he jumped into action, easily taking the hawk-eyed professor's place in the assembling. Despite the war going on outside of this greenhouse, getting his hands on dirty and seeds again felt more like coming home than returning to Thistlewood ever had. He was doing something about the war finally, even if it was something small.

Green light flashed from Hooch's wand as they cast protective spells over the finished seed bombs. It made his heart pound in chest to be so close spell-light of that color, even knowing that the spells had little in common with the Killing Curse. His anxiety had little to do with it, too. Ever since the Death Eaters had taken over the ministry and then Hogwarts, Neville had been caught in a loop of anticipation. As _the_ Longbottom of Longbottom, as his parents' child, as Augusta's ward, he was too much of a political target to be left alone.

Neville knew that they would come for him eventually. He knew that if he was lucky, he was merely green-listed. More likely, he would face a fate similar to his parents. His only hope was that the war would end quickly. His only desire was to go down with a snarl in his heart and a curse on his lips, like the Hufflepuff his mother had been.

The door creaked open suddenly, just enough to let Professor Sinestra slip into the workroom. She was as dark as the night skies she loved so much, and her dark green robes did nothing to lighten her figure. If her robes did not have tiny star bursts embroidered into her cuffs and collar, it would have been easy to miss her in a dark corridor. Neville's skin broke out in goosebumps as he realized that had likely been the purpose of her wardrobe choice. His heart lurched when she greeted both Sprout and Hooch with a kiss.

"Breathe, Longbottom," Sinestra ordered as she turned her dark eyes to him finally. "You'll trigger a panic attack if you don't." He gasped a breath, exactly as he was told. Sinestra smiled at him beatifically as she continued coaxing him back to the present. "Just focus on getting the seeds onto the balls. There's a lad."

Once he was breathing regularly, she joined the assembly line next to Hooch. Her spells were bursts of silver tinged with the pale green of spring sprouts. The sharp-toothed grin she gave every time she cast should not have comforted him as much as it did.

(^^)

A month later, Neville coaxed a couple of Gryffindor first-years through the lush garden of green plants that covered this part of the grounds entirely. The larger of the two eyed the hanging vines of Devil's Snare with an appropriate amount of wariness. The smaller showed how fitting her Sorting was by reaching out to actually _pet_ a Venomous Tarantula Vine as they passed it. Thankfully, whatever spells Hooch had imbued into the seeds worked and the plant didn't attack.

Behind them, Neville could hear the outermost Devil's Snare taking care of the Death Eater that had been pursuing them. The speed and viciousness it had to be using to make those sounds proved that Sinestra's spells were working just as well as Hooch's. It only took a moment before the sounds of cursing and useless bursts of fire stopped.

Neville's relieved grin matched Sinestra's just a little bit more than it had when he first joined the Hogwarts resistance.


	66. Nature Boy

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also some light self-loathing. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Please ignore the anachronism of David Bowie covering "Nature Boy" or pretend this is just reality where the Marauders are familiar with his cover. Also, before anyone kvetches: eden ahbez preferred his chosen name be written in all lowercase. So that is how it is written in the story. It's not a mistake.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Feast; Rainbow Focus; Clowder; No Heterosexual Explanation; Fluent in Sarcasm; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC (x3); Bow Before the Blacks; Fire Time; Seeds; Shipmas; Ways to the Heart; No Proof; Minerva's Migraine; Interesting Times; Old Shoes (Y); Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; True Colours; Letter of the Day; Gender? Who That?; Setting Sail; Rowl in Her Grave; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash (Y); Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; Two Cakes!; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Herbology (Task#5: Write a story set around a campfire, hearth, or fireplace.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [179] (Starting a Fire); 365 Words [299](Stupid); Make a Fairytale (Wolf/Werewolf); Friend Frenzy [26]("I'm not here to coddle you. I'm here to smack you for being an idiot!"); Baking King Cakes [Step Three] (Chocolate Chips)(Coconut Shavings); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 4](Trans – Nonbinary)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **WiB [5B](Cookies); Fall Micro 1 (Teapot)**  
Representation(s):** Wolfstar (Remus Lupin/Sirius Black); Black Lily Evans; Marauders as family  
**Bonus Challenges:** Sweetest Burn; Fruit Fly; Saucy Buns; Gingersnap; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Most Human Bean; Muck & Slime; Dog Star; Under the Bridge; Esbat); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Fire Song; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Turtle-Duck; Jet Fuel; Sailor Take Warning)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Oath); RoIL (Exuviation; Satisfaction); AD (Arrangement)  
**Word Count:** 912

(^^)  
**Nature Boy**  
(^^)

Lily did not bother knocking as she entered the small cottage that James had given Remus after graduation. She just marched in with her bright red dress contrasting beautifully with her dark skin (if she said so herself) and her fuzzy bunny slippers (because at eight months she had given up on wearing practical shoes and anyone who disagreed could become overly friendly with a pineapple). She also didn't bother calling out a greeting as she made her way to the kitchen. She didn't bother asking if he wanted any tea when she started the kettle heating either.

Remus, in her opinion, didn't deserve to have that kind of consideration right now.

Normally, yes, she would respect his need for space and privacy, especially the day after a full moon when he would be drained from his transformation. She was a good friend. Good friends supported each other while they dealt with their chronic conditions and all of the complications that came along with said conditions.

However, being a good friend also meant making each other see the errors of their ways when they do things that are utterly and completely stupid in a fit of self-destruction.

Thus she made sure to make as much noise as possible as she went about putting together a tea tray, even though she knew that Remus would still be asleep in front of the now cold fireplace in the living room. By the time she was raiding his biscuit jar for the chocolate covered blackberry jammy dodgers they both loved, she could hear him groaning.

For good measure, she ate one of the decadent cookies before picking up the tray and carrying it to where her prey waited for her. Remus had made Sirius cry. He didn't deserve biscuits.

"Lily," Remus moaned with his arm draped across his face to keep the early morning sunlight from hitting his face. She made sure to set the tray down as hard as she could without risking the teapot. Then she settled herself in Remus' favorite armchair, wiggling as necessary to keep the weight of the baby off of her bladder. The kid seemed to have made a game out of kicking it lately. "Lily, I really don't need your coddling right now."

"Good," she snapped as she bit into another biscuit. She swallowed the bite before continuing. "I'm not here to coddle you. I'm here to smack you for being an idiot!"

"Sirius told you, huh?" Remus asked, sounding even worse than he had during the time following the Prank when the Marauders were practically broken up. That made sense, given how this was about another breakup. He rolled over to face the unlit fireplace. Lily rolled her eyes and flicked her wand at the partially burnt logs to rekindle the fire. Then she put it away completely, despite how much it would annoy Remus that she was leaving herself vulnerable to him (as if she didn't already know that his wolf-self saw her as the pack mother and was protective, not aggressive, because of her pregnancy).

"Listen," she started as she started on another biscuit from the plate on the tray, "the idea of you and Sirius actually dating rather than dancing around each other is something we have all been waiting for since first year when you both fell asleep on the common room couch. It was inevitable that you would kiss each other. So you have just got to ask yourself a very important question before turning your back on this." She licked the dark chocolate from her fingertips. "What do you want the most?"

"Uninterrupted sleep," Remus replied with a dry tone. She frowned at him, despite knowing that he couldn't see it with his back to her. He sighed heavily. "He deserves better, Lily."

"He deserves to love whoever he wants," she argued, "and to be loved in return."

"Don't quote Bowie at me," he grumped. She snorted.

"Cole recorded it first."

"And ahbez wrote it originally," Remus countered as he rolled over to face her finally. He stuck his tongue out at her childishly before sighing again. "Sirius deserves the world."

"And yet, for some stupid reason," Sirius interrupted from the doorway, "all I want is your dumb ass."

"And that's my cue to leave," Lily announced. She struggled to her feet. Then she scooped up the remaining jammy dodgers, prompting a protest from both Remus and Sirius. "Bad boys don't get biscuits!"

"They're _my_ biscuits," Remus protested.

"I'm not a boy," Sirius argued at the same time. Lily rolled her eyes at both of them before shoving an entire cookie in her mouth. Sirius whined like he would in his canine form. "Why am I being punished? He's the one who kissed me and then broke up with me! We weren't even dating!"

"And you're the one who came to me to fix your love life," Lily said, waddling from the room. "I could have stayed home and enjoyed cuddling my tall drink of a husband."

"You were out of blackberry jammy dodgers, weren't you?" Remus asked, resigned.

"That's irrelevant."

"I'll bake you some more," Remus said. Lily grinned at him.

"And that's why you're my favorite, Remus," Lily told him. Then she left before Sirius could do more than sputter in surprise. They would figure it out.

Well, they would _probably_ figure it out. She might have to come back just to check.

…and to pick up her cookies.


	67. Heaven

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Fluffy fluff-fluff for the poly ship hole y'all have in your hearts. Words y'all may need to know are "zucchini" (partner in a Queer Platonic Relationship) & "älskling" ("darling" in Swedish).

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Fore-Touch; Love Language; Point of Know Return; Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Sett to Destroy; Lion's Moon & Shadow Bribery (Y); Seeds; Shipmas; No Proof; Times to Come; Interesting Times; Old Shoes (Y); Themes & Things A [Love] (Y); Themes & Things [Happy Endings] (Y); Lovely Triangle; Ethnic & Present; Hold the Mayo; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Letter of the Day (x3); Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y); Green Ribbon; Two Cakes!  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Beauty Therapy (Task#11: Write about someone who is scarred, literally or figuratively.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [248]("Today I refuse to leave this bed. Any problems can wait until tomorrow."); 365 Words [228](Opinion); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 4](Polyamory); Baking King Cakes [Step Three](Sprinkles)(Shaped Fondant); Make a Fairytale (True Love); Friendship Frenzy [12](Companion)  
**Other MC4A Challenges:** WiB [3B](Light); Winter Micro 1 (Dragon AU)  
**Representation(s):** Lunar Heroic Shadow (Luna/Harry/Blaise); Black & Swedish Blaise Zabini; Autistic Luna & Harry  
**Bonus Challenges: **Sweetest Burn; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lock & Key; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Muck & Slime; Bad Beans; Under the Bridge; Darkest Day; Lettuce Hold Hands); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; Surprise!; Turtle-Duck)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (Poppy; Yarrow); FR (Satisfaction; Liberation); AD (Association)  
**Word Count:** 622

(^^)  
**Heaven**  
(^^)

"Today, I refuse to leave this bed," Harry announced as he crawled in between Blaise and Luna on the wrong side of dawn. "Any problems can wait until tomorrow."

"You know that Granger isn't going to allow that," Blaise murmured even as he shifted to snuggle against Harry. "The eclipse over Hogwarts is today. She's been asking you to attend the festivities for over a month. She's not going to accept you kipping over going."

Harry groaned and buried his face in Blaise's chest. He rubbed his check over the ridges of Blaise's scars. Like the rest of the Slytherins, Blaise had been locked in the Slytherin common room during the final battle. Most of the lower levels of the castle had remained intact, but the large window in the Slytherin common room had shattered when the last of the Hogwarts wards had collapsed. Scars over most of Blaise's chest was the better outcome of everything that had followed.

Harry shook his head without lifting it. Now was not the time to think of that. After pulling an all-nighter with Neville as they finished the prep for their shop to open, Harry was exhausted and if he never saw another grow light, he would be able to die happy. He didn't need to get maudlin on top of it. That was sure to cascade his mood down too low for him to sleep.

"I don't care," Harry grumbled. And he really didn't. Hermione had been a good friend, but since becoming Minister of Magic, she had been horrid about asking him to show up to various events or lend his support to various causes that were most worthy in Hermione's opinion. He understood that the Boy-Who-Lived furor had only increased when he became the Man Who Conquered, but it was exhausting trying to have a real life while doing even a third of the things she tried to put on his schedule. Thank god he didn't go into anything at the Ministry of Magic or there really wouldn't be any escaping her. "Imma not a trained monkey."

"But you'd be such a cute monkey," Blaise said. "Make all the other monkeys go 'aah'."

"I love you up to the moon and back," Luna muttered as she shifted from her sprawl to pressing against Harry's back. Her words were flat enough that Harry was sort of surprised that she was verbal at all. "Both of you and at apogee, but by all that is sacred, if you don't stop talking and actually go to sleep, then I'm feeding you both to Charlie's precious babies."

"They're dragnets in onesies," Harry commented in his surprise at their normally placid companion actually threatening them. "You'd feed us to dragons? That's…that's so _wicked_."

"I thought you loved us," Blaise said, his amusement clear in his voice. "You said we were irreplaceable and indispensable just last night."

"All a part of my evil plan," Luna countered, not sounding any more awake than she had a few moments ago. The edges of her words were softened by sleep and her tone didn't waver out of its flatness. "Oh, yeah, it's all coming together. Lure my zucchini and our boyfriend into a false sense of security and then feed them both to our scaly niblings. Tis a good plan. Know what's a better one?"

"No, älskling," Blaise answered for both of them. Harry could tell that he was close to chuckling, not that Harry blamed him. Sleepy and relaxed Luna was a precious bean who must be protected at all costs. "What's a better plan?"

"_Sleep_," she commanded. "Sleep is the best plan. _Now._"

"Yes, Luna," they chimed in concert before settling down to spend a lazy day in bed.


	68. Keeping

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** I really cannot yell at anyone who uses the "ignore the problem and hope that it just goes away" approach to emotional issues. People in glass houses, after all. But gods, having an entire country doing it in canon was still a bit much. Thanks, JKR.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** No Heterosexual Explanation; Love Language; Small Fry; Gryffindor MC; Sett to Destroy; Seeds; No Proof; Times to Come; Interesting Times; Old Shoes (Y); Tiny Terror; Ethnic & Present (x2); Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Letter of the Day (x2); Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash (Y); Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Green Ribbon; Two Cakes!; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 4  
**Subject (Task No.):** Beauty Therapy (Task#7: Write about increasing something.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [14] (Impact); 365 [156] (Impact); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 3](Native); Baking King Cakes [Step One](Power); Making a Fairytale (Damsel in Distress)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Wi Bingo [2A] (Sorrow)**  
Representation(s):** Black Harry Potter; Native Skylar Adams & Zoey Adams; Adopted Families; Grief  
**Bonus Challenges: **Misshapen Pods; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Lovely Coconuts; Grease Monkey; Under the Bridge; Where Angels Fear; Civil Disobedience; Lettuce Hold Hands); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Abandoned Ship; Fire & Fold; In the Trench; Surprise!; Turtle- Duck; Some Beach; Getting On; Mermaid; Strange Potatoes)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 899

(^^)  
**Keeping**  
(^^)

Harry strolled through Berczy Park as if he didn't have a care in the world. With his black jeans and red sweatshirt, he could be mistaken for one of the many tourists that swarmed the plaza. He had pushed his sleeves up to feel the sunlight on his dark forearms. He adjusted his glasses and subtly activated the wards that filtered out some of the bright sunlight. In combination with the spells imbued in the stone rounds hanging from the wire looped through his right helix, the busy park was almost bearable instead of a sensory maelstrom.

After the war, Harry had almost settled into what would have been considered a normal life in wizarding Britain. He had offered to help with the rebuilding of Hogwarts, but McGonagall had simply waved him off with an explanation that the damage looked worse than it actually was. Given that the school and grounds looked like nothing had happened less than a month later, she must have been right.

In fact, except for how George continued to just drift through life like a leaf fallen into a slow-moving stream, it seemed like the entire war had never happened, as if all the losses had no real impact. The Weasleys on the whole managed that by refusing to mention Fred. While it seemed to help the other Weasleys through their grief, George had become practically a ghost. In desperation to help, Harry moved into the twins' old flat.

Then he had reached out for resources. The wizarding world's version of mind healing was less than impressive. He'd even go as far as to say that it was as backwards as using parchment instead of paper. They simply locked them away in hospitals or private residences. Harry couldn't do that to George, not and still call him family. So Harry returned to the Muggle world and for the first time in his life, discovered how wonderous it could be.

One of the things that both Harry and George had picked up as an activity was letter-writing. There was a penpal program that they both joined which focused on people who enjoyed inventing things. It gave George back the spark he had lost with Fred, allowing him to start creating new wheezes for the shop again. Harry let himself be swept along in the haze of creation, ignoring everyone who pressured him to become an Auror. Having an inventing penpal had given both of them a new lease on life.

It was also the reason why he was currently in Toronto, Canada, trying to look like he was only taking in the park and not waiting to meet his penpal of the last seven years. Skylar had included a coded message in her last letter, asking for his help. Maybe Hermione was right that Harry had a 'saving people' thing, because he had grabbed the first international portkey that he could.

Though how much of that was how Skylar _never_ asked for help, Harry didn't know and refused to think about too closely. Thinking about it meant admitting just how bad whatever situation would have to be in order to prompt Skylar to reach like that. Thinking about it meant admitting just how much Harry had missed having someone need his help for something more serious than how best to prank their frenemies.

"You're a lot shorter than I imagined," someone said as they fell into step beside him. She was the same height as him, with skin the color of aged knuts. Her dark hair had a few of the jaggedly cut strands dyed a vibrate blue. Different styles of tattoos covered her bare arms like the declarations they were. Though Harry didn't think many people would recognize the many equations tucked away in the curling calligraphy woven between roses and pussywillows. "Knights in shining armor should be taller, I think."

"For you to need a knight," Harry replied, "you would first have to be a damsel in distress, Sky."

"Maybe this time I actually am," Sky admitted, sounding only a bit broken. "I really need somewhere to hide, Harry. Me and Zee, both."

"Then we'll hide you," he promised. He subtly headed towards the park exit and only smiled when a tiny four-year-old suddenly jumped into Skylar's arms. He waved at the miniature version of Skylar who had to be her daughter Zoey. "Both you and Zee."

"We might be bringing trouble with us," she warned. He shrugged before giving her a smirk that he had learned from George.

"If you didn't increase our level of trouble, then we would just have to find some other way."

In a back alley nearby, Harry took out the parts he needed for the portal device he kept disassembled just in case the wizarding authority ever got overly curious about his inventions. Skylar didn't question his spontaneous tinkering, likely because it had been her suggestion do hide things in pieces like that. The portal flared orange as it opened, revealing the basement of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

"Welcome home," he announced to the pair. He probably should have told George that he was planning to increase their little household, practically doubling it in size. He knew that George wouldn't mind, though. Offering help when help was needed was what had brought Harry into the family, after all. At this point, it was practically tradition to keep strays.


	69. Vows

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There are also some references to standard canon misdeeds such as past child abuse and manipulation. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This is probably the closest I will ever come to writing my own handfasting. Throwing that out there before also saying: none of the characters getting hitched are the gender they were assigned in canon. Harry & Blaise are always fem & use she/her pronouns. Luna is nonbinary & uses they/them. As always, the Potters are Desi, and Luna's mother doesn't have a cursed name.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC (x2); Slytherin MC; Durmstrang MC; Artist MC; Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; The 3rd Rule; Lovely Triangle; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender (x3); Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon (Y)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 5  
**Subject (Task No.):** Media Studies (Task#3: Write about a picture perfect moment.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [291](Harry Potter); 365 [132](Hairpin); Mario Day [02](Silver);  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [2D](Love); Tr Bingo [2D](Love Triangle); Hunt [Sp WD](Desi Character); Ship [SpBig](Hair Stick/Pin)**  
Representation(s):** Luna Lovegood/Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; Autistic Harry & Luna; Gender Bend Harry & Blaise; Desi Potters  
**Bonus Challenges: **Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Terrarium)  
**Word Count:** 934

(^^)  
**Vows**  
(^^)

Luna smiled as they started walking down their aisle as Harini walked down one of the other two aisles that spiraled out from the altar in the center of the clearing. In the last aisle, Blaise was moving at the same speed. Only when they all reached the final loop were they walking nearly in unison. If any of them reached over the line of white stones edging their paths, they would be able to hold hands.

Luna felt their heart swell at being so close to their loves but still waiting to reach out. Harini was beautiful as always in her emerald dress, the brilliant green a charming contrast to her brown skin while it matched her eyes. Blaise was a vision in a purple so dark that it almost matched her skin. Luna knew that they were equally lovely in their own silver robes but seeing Harini and Blaise in this moment literally stole their breath with their beauty.

As sensitive to magic as Luna always had been, they could feel the rising tide of it in the clearing as it brushed over them like a gentle wind. Standing along the edges of the clearing was their families, the family they had found through their lives. Luna could feel the outpouring of support and love from them as well.

They had not felt so loved since their mother had died.

The altar had been carefully arranged ahead of time, just like how the circle had been cast before the ceremony had started. At each end were two pillar candles, each with a little picture frame standing in front of it. One end had a red candle and a gold candle for James and Lily Potter. The other had a purple candle and a green candle for Luna's mother Dione and Blaise's father Alec. On the opposite from where Luna, Harini, and Blaise entered together, Luna's father Xenophilius and Blaise's mother Claudia waited for them.

"Welcome, supplicants," Claudia greeted them. Her smile made her already beautiful face beatific. She turned her dark gaze towards the people edging the clearing. "And welcome, celebrants."

"How do you enter this circle?" Xenophilius asked. His voice was soft as if to contrast how loud his yellow robes were. Luna felt Harini wrapping her fingers around theirs and gave a reassuring squeeze back. While traditional, the question was going to be the hardest for Harini to answer both correctly and honestly. Trust was not something that her childhood had taught her.

"With perfect love and perfect trust," Luna and Blaise intoned together. Harini's hand trembled as the magic of the space twitched at the omission of Harini's answer. Luna felt Blaise's magic flex as if preparing to wrap around Harini to protect her against the repercussions of magic gone awry.

"With perfect love," Harini started. Then she took an unsteady breath. She raised her chin as if daring the energy around them to call her bluff. "And per-perfect trust."

The magic surged like a wild wind. It tore at all of their clothing. It also yanked hard enough at Luna's updo that the silver hairpin holding it tumbled free. Like a child with a new plaything, the magical wind toyed with their blond locks before jumping to ruffle Harini's short curls and Blaise's twists. Harini let out a startled laugh full of relief as the magic settled back to an even level, having accepted her truth.

"Face each other, supplicants," Claudia commanded, "and speak the vows that magic has put into your hearts for this moment."

"You cannot possess me," Blaise spoke first. The cadence of her voice lyrical with the full weight of her lorelai heritage acting as both an anchor and a sword as she spoke of her greatest fear and strongest promise. "I belong to myself only. But while we all will it so, I give you that which is mine to give."

"You cannot command me," Harini picked. A faint shudder when through her small form at the memory of Crouch's sticky-sweet temptation as it crawled through her mind and Voldemort's darker song of temptation. Even Dumbledore's honeyed words had been poisoned in the end. "I am a free person and no one's slave. But I shall serve you in those ways you require and in all ways which pleases us."

"You cannot silence me," Luna whispered. Their eyes stung with the remembered pain of years being mocked or dismissed simply because people did not understand them or felt discomfort with the way Luna spoke. "I See many things and must say that which magic as decreed to be spoken. But I will keep your secrets as if they were my own and will tell no strangers our grievances."

"I pledge myself to you," all three of them said in unison. The raised magic condensed into thick ribbons which wove up and down their arms and joined hands, binding them in a circle of everlasting love. "I pledge to you my living and my dying, equally in your care, and take from you the same. This is my vow to you: a promise of equality in all things as living as the magic within us."

The ribbons of magic pressed into their skin, leaving behind matching tattoos of crimson wrapping up all of their forearms to declare their bond to the world. Moving as one, each of them pressed close, unable to deny magic's demand that they be as close as possible. Beyond the circle's edge, a camera flashed as someone snapped a picture of their first moment as spouses.

Everything was just perfect.


	70. Happy Days

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Here's a little more sweet/sour Lily Lives AU for y'all.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x2); Red Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash; Two Cakes; Eating Cake; Green Ribbon  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 5  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [959](Happy Days); 365 [286](Shenanigans); Mario Day [4](Dancing); Crazy Cone Contraptions (Sour)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [4D](Dance/Music); Tr Bingo [1E](True Companions); Hunt [Sp Settings](Small Town/Village); Link Maker (Same Bingo Card)**  
Representation(s):** Lily Evans Potter; Lily & Sirius QPR  
**Bonus Challenges: **Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 637

(^^)  
**Happy Days**  
(^^)

"You've got to relax a bit, Lils," Sirius said as he rubbed her shoulders. He was also using the hold to steer her out the door of the little cottage where they had moved after James' death. Remus had already carried Harry off to the playroom. The toddler didn't even look back, the traitor. "Moony has the Prongslet well in hand. All you have to worry about is enjoying our afternoon out."

"What if—"

"No," Sirius interrupted. He let go of her long enough to pull his long hair up into a ponytail. The movement showed off the way his tee shirt bared his forearms and their myriad of tattoos. Even she had to admit that he looked ruggedly handsome when he wasn't being, well, _Sirius_. "This is a worry-free zone. There shall be no worries here. Mummy is going to get her nails done and drink fruity drinks with umbrellas to celebrate how wonderful life is."

"If you start singing, I swear—"

"And you can tell ever-ee-body," Sirius sang, because not even losing James could stop him from being ridiculous, "that this is your song—"

"You certainly sound like a dog howling," Lily quipped. She smiled despite herself as Sirius serenaded their walk into town. The cheerfulness felt wrong, like it was sour instead of sweet. It had only been a few months since Halloween. "You're going to attract banshees with shrieks like that."

"I hope you forgive me," Sirius continued, "these things I do-oo. You see I've forgotten if they're green or if they're blue-oo."

"They're green," she said, as Sirius swept her into his arms in a parody of a waltz down the lane.

They had reached the outskirts of town now. A few villagers shook their heads disapprovingly at their frolicking. More were smiling in welcome, though. Sirius and Remus had lived in the village since they had graduated Hogwarts, so no doubt they were used to Sirius and his particular brand of shenanigans.

"And we're here," Sirius announced as he spun her out. They were in front of a small café. Lily gave him a confused look. "Yeah, yeah. Definitely not getting your nails done here and they probably don't have anything that comes with an umbrella, but the smoothies are awesome. Remus also says they have a variety of jammy dodgers that they make in-house."

"Blackberry?" she asked, perking up.

Neither she nor Remus had had the energy to make their favorite cookies lately. Between all the fallout of the war ending the way that it did, and Harry's night terrors, and then the whole situation with Dumbledore trying to have Sirius arrested, all their energy had been spent just trying to keep going. She literally had no clue how she would have managed if she had been forced to do it on her own, even if she hated imposing on the couple as she had these last six months.

"Blackberry," Sirius confirmed. "They don't cover them in chocolate like you and Remus do—"

"That's fine! I'll take it!"

"Does this make me your cookie-dealer?"

"Oh, shut it," she ordered as she dragged him into the café. "I'm only going to last for about an hour more before I need to go make sure Harry hasn't convinced Remus to run for mayor of a little town up the coast. I want biscuits and at least one cuppa before then."

"As you wish, your highness," Sirius answered regally. She paused long enough to press a grateful kiss to his cheek. She could feel his gaze as she walked up to the counter. Knowing that he was watching her back helped ease the twitchiness left over from the war.

It wasn't the life she had planned when she had married James, but right at that moment, it was enough.


	71. Daring

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This is for Amber of Hogwarts (Slytherin), in honor of her birthday. Everyone else gets to enjoy Parvati dressing up to propose to Lavender & mentally freaking out, too.

**Hindi Culture (Quick & Dirty):** Crimson & Gold are traditionally worn while getting married and only while getting married. A shalwar kameez is a traditional garb popular in the Punjab region. Shiva, among many things, is the god of unions (including marriage), and one of his wives is named Parvati. One of his symbols is a snake twisting on itself. Nose piercings are actually fairly common in Hindi culture, at least for women, and do not have the same weird stigma they do in Western cultures. Mamī is one of the transliterate spellings of the Hindi word for "mother". Bandar is also Hindi, for "monkey" and is a term of endearment. Not Hindu at all, but "wit" is an Old English euphemism for "penis", and yes, Shakespeare knew that when he used it repeated throughout his works.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Magical MC (x2); The 3rd Rule; Booger Breath; Ship Sails; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 5  
**Subject (Task No.):** Media Studies (Task#12: Write about getting gussied up for a special occasion.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [368](Parvati Patil); 365 [84](Elope); Mario Day [20](Reflection); Crazy Cone Contraptions [4](Auburn); To All the Characters I Loved Before [Andromeda Black Tonks] (Sisters; Pureblood)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [5A](Yellow); Tr Bingo [5A](Gillian Cut); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity](Hindi Character); Ship [Sp Big](Necklace)**  
Representation(s):** Padma & Parvati Patil; Parvati/Lavender Brown; Hindi Patils  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Bechdel Test; Not a Lamp; Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** n/a  
**Word Count:** 695

(^^)  
**Daring**  
(^^)

Parvati was very particular about the ensemble she chose for tonight. As daring as she was already being, there were still some lines she would not cross. Thus her shalwar kameez was not the crimson reserved for weddings, only a rich auburn, and the detailing was a goldenrod instead of gold thread. Judging on the tense scowl her mother was giving her, the fact that the detailing was a viper twisting upon itself might have been pushing that line a bit hard.

But then she truly needed Shiva's guidance and strength for tonight, and who would deny her what benefits her name imbued her with? Her parents had chosen to name her as suggested by the Naming Seer. No matter her House, she would always have the right to wear the symbol of the husband of the goddess who first used her name.

Just to be on safe side, though, she laid out the proper offerings on the household altar before letting Padma take over the final adornments required. The aroma of the henna paste curled thickly through the air as Padma worked on painting the symbols to call on good luck and other blessings. Parvati almost laughed when the paste was removed to reveal that the stains matched the auburn of her clothing precisely enough that Padma's smug look was definitely well-earned. That was her sister, all right, precision in all things.

Their mother sighed with complete resignation before leaving the room when Padma presented Parvati with a complete set of gold jewelry set with garnets closer to crimson than wine. The twins shared a look through the mirror's reflection. Lavender was English, and while years of Divination studies had certainly given her an understanding of nuance, there was still a good chance that she would miss the blatant hints that Parvati was giving out by choosing to dress as she did.

The only way Parvati could be _more obvious_ of her intentions would be to show up in a true crimson and gold with a holy man in tow.

There was still time before their anniversary date tonight.

"_Don't you dare_," Padma hissed in Punjabi. "Mamī would kill you if you tried to snatch your wedding even further from her. I will not help if you try to actually elope with Lavender instead of just proposing."

"But what if she changes her mind?" Parvati countered. "I should be prepared to act fast."

"I doubt that she will change her mind after putting up with you for so long already." Padma put a necklace with a garnet pendant carved with the symbols of the Patil family around Parvati's neck. "Besides, the gods have kept you together this long. There must have been a reason. What better reason than a long, happy life with your beloved?"

"When did you get so wise?" Parvati whined as she added the stud to her left nostril. Nerves aside, she was content to see how the proposal went. As least for now. Maybe she could still convince her parents that a short engagement would not be dishonorable.

"I've always been wise," Padma boasted as she worked glittering gold chains through the hoops already in Parvati's elaborate braids. "It's why I was sorted into Ravenclaw while you flittered off to Gryffindor."

"_Wit beyond measure_," Parvati mocked, deliberately switching to English for the phrase to make her twin blush. There was still no clear explanation on whether the innuendo was deliberate or not. Either way, it was still a great way to make Padma's face darken with embarrassment. Parvati's stomach twisted like it had a snake in it for a moment. "Do you really think she'll say yes, Padma?"

"Oh, bandar," Padma said as she wrapped her arms around her sister's waist. "Of course, she will. Why, I bet that she'll take one look at you all dressed up and propose herself!"

"I know you're exaggerating," Parvati commented after taking a deep breath, "but I'm going to let that comfort me."

Less than an hour later, when Lavender did exactly that, Parvati couldn't help but wonder if maybe her sister wasn't the better seer, despite never taking a single Divination class.


	72. You Win or You Pie

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use shere may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There is also references to canon child abuse, including starvation of a child. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This very strange fic is dedicated to Snowblaze, who likes "good" Slytherins and whose birthday is this month.

**Vocabulary & Grammar Reminders:** "Wix" is a gender-neutral equivalent to the HP witch/wizard. "Wixen" is its adjective & plural forms. "Hedge witch" is a follower of a magical tradition that falls under the umbrella term "hedge witchcraft". Like all non-HP versions of the word "witch", it is gender neutral. Proper nouns are always capitalized, even when the proper noun is only recognizable as such due to the capitalization. (Relevant primarily due to the pagan habit of simplistic naming.)

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC; Magical MC; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Setting Sail; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Coffee Life; Short Jog (Y); The Story Goes On; Two Cakes; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 6  
**Subject (Task No.):** Floristry (Task#9: someone performing a ritual on themselves.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [658]("Aquamarine" by Silverstein); 365 [22](Backlash); Crazy Cone Contraptions [17] Sensation (word); Hello Spring [13](Ritual); Spring Garden [All 15 Prompts!]  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [2B](Rain/Drizzle); TrB [4B](Finagle's Law); Ship [Sp Big] (Blanket); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity] (Black Character);**  
Representation(s):** fem Blaise Zabini & Chronic Pain; Soulmate AU (Feels Each Other's Pain)  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Persistence Still; Demo (Horrible Love); Demo (Machismo; shead of Perseus)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble)  
**Word Count:** 1331

(^^)  
**You Win or You Pie**  
(^^)

The pain hit her all at once, with all the force of a Knockback Jinx, instead of the slow, building sensation that Blaise was used to from her unknown soulmate. Like waking from a nightmare, she shot upright in her bed. her blanket pooled around her waist. Her head swam with a myriad of feelings, both physical and emotional and all of them belonging to her soulmate. She was drowning in the sudden backlash, and she could barely cultivate the necessary calm to restore her mental walls.

"Just breathe," she ordered herself as she tried to focus on the colorful stain on the wall opposite her bed. She focused on the memory of how it came to be. "Just breathe through it."

Tracey had broken into her flat above the shop, too eager to wait for her to come downstairs, in order to show Blaise her newest creation, a honey-coated sticky bun with a dollop of blackberry jam in its center. Thankfully, Tracey was hardy enough that she was barely hurt by the hex that Blaise had reflexively thrown when she had opened her bedroom door. The same could not be said for the sticky bun, which had been mostly burned into the magical wallpaper. The dissonance as the different magics conflicted had made the vibrant stain that still remained.

Tracey had been all sweetness and heartfelt apologies about startling her. Daphne (her soulmate as well as her best friend from childhood) had been radiant in her protective fury, however, and Blaise had spent the six months afterwards routinely recovering from various mild jinxes as Daphne strove to help her unlearn that particular reflex. Most of it had not been painful—Daphne would never let Blaise's soulmate suffer a punishment meant for Blaise alone—but it had still been uncomfortable.

Another wave of pain pulled her from the memory, ripping at her in a way that couldn't mean anything good. Blaise hadn't felt anything from her soulmate like this in years. There had been a time, back before she had gone to Hogwarts, when such pain had been frighteningly common. For a few years, it had been unusual for Blaise to _not_ feel some sort of pain from her soulmate. The most commonly recurring ache had gnawed at her bones, seeping out from a gut that felt more hollow than whole. Honestly, that constant hunger had probably been the reason that she decided to open her coffee shop after the war.

In desperation to stop her suffering, her mother had turned to the Order of the Briar Hedge for solutions that would help. The sisterhood had a certain reputation among European magi. During both wars, neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore had dared approach any of their known members. The Order followed the Once Ways, the traditions that predate the precarious taming of magic with foci like wands and staves. They had power beyond what any wix was capable of achieving and knowledge of things that the wixen had long forgotten.

A grumbly roll of thunder sounded in the distance as she felt another pulse of pain. This time, Blaise could feel something within herself responding, creeping out of the shadows of her soul like a troll from its subterranean lair. When the leader of the hedge witches had told her mother and her that she would know when it was time to use the ritual they had been given, she hadn't thought anything about what that might mean. She had only been ten at the time, and far more likely to think about ways to get the upper hand against Daphne the next time they sparred.

But now, with the pain and certainty crashing inside of her like the thunder did outside, Blaise understood what they had meant.

His legs felt weak under her when she stood. She stumbled as she made her way to the free-standing cupboard where she kept her altar. The scent of past offerings wafted from the space as she swung open the doors. No amount of incense and candle smoke would ever cover the delectable aroma of the pies and tarts she kept in a charmed drawer just for things like what she was about to do. With all the care of her mother creating a seating arrangement for one of her diplomatic events, Blaise looked over the selection of tiny pies before settling on a blackberry pie with a star and moon cut out of its crust.

Offering and focus chosen, Blaise picked up the charmed punk she used for lighting her altar. A quick twist of the tip between her dark fingertips had it bursting into a cheery little flame. She touched the flame to each wick solemnly, intoning the associated invocation with minimal waver due to the now-steadily growing pain from her soulmate.

"May the Maiden grant me peace," Blaise told the white votive as she lit it. Then she turned towards the red candle sitting right beside it. "May the Mother grant me strength." Finally, to the deep purple one set behind and between the first two, she said, "May the Crone grant me wisdom."

With all three aspects of the Goddess invited back to her sacred space, Blaise shook the punk out before setting it aside and took a deep breath to prepare for the ritual itself. She pictured roots growing from the bottoms of her bare feet, pushing through the wood and plaster and other whatnot that made up the floors of her little shop. At the same time, she pictured antlers growing out of her head and reaching into the infinite nether of the heavens.

And through it all, the weather turned nasty around her to match the pain lashing at her soul. Even safely tucked away inside, Blaise could taste the wildness of the storm, how unnatural it was in origin. Either someone nearby was having a very big bout of accidental magic or Magic itself was raging against something. She deliberately did not think about what either of those things might mean in concert with the pain from her soulmate.

"From within, I pull the bond unrecognized," Blaise intoned, visualizing the act alongside the words she had long ago memorized. She gasped as the pain shifted from something distinctly happening to her soulmate to something happening to her as the bond manifested in her cupped hands and immediately began to burn her skin. Quickly, she shoved the gathered magic towards the pie waiting for just this thing. "I set a part of me outside of myself and into this vessel in the hopes that they may unite and show me to the one I am missing."

The pie smoked a little as the soul bond settled into it. Even with the scent of burnt sugar, the blackberries were still the strongest note in the air. Blaise took a moment to breathe once her soulmate's pain was fully exorcised from her. Rain lashed against the glass of her bedroom window as if Magic was insistent on reminding her that hand-pies made poor containers for connections between soulmates and she would be forced to consume the pie eventually or lose the connection altogether.

"Okay, okay," she muttered as if the weather could shear her over its own grumbling and wailing. "I'm going—where am I going?"

As if in answer, the star twisted around the crescent moon on the pie crust until it was arranged with two points braced against the crescent's back. She turned the pie around a few times to see how the oddly shaped arrow moved to keep pointing in the same direction. She grinned despite the rough awakening and impending danger she was soon going to be facing alone.

"There you are, love," Blaise announced. "You stay strong. I'm coming." She looked down at herself, still clad in only the pajama bottoms she had slipped on before bed. "But first: pants."

The thunder crashed loudly and close enough to shake her windowpanes.

Everyone was a critic.


	73. Love Grows

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Additionally, there is a referenced character death with associated grief. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Yes, I went with the popular fanon that the Lovegoods & the Malfoy are directly related to each other. Yes, I then followed it up with putting essentially cousins in the same romantic/sexual type ship. It's no more or less than what JKR did in canon multiple times. All that being said, this is surprisingly fluffy for being kind of centered around an autistic character trying to figure out grief.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Aya Bribes You (Y); Ravenclaw MC (x3); Magical MC (x3); Artist MC; Neurodivergent (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); The 3rd Rule (Y); Lovely Triangle; Ship Sails (Y); Future Era; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes; Eating Cake; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 6  
**Subject (Task No.):** Floristry (Task#1: Write about a couple who had been together a long time [10 or more years].)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [807](Only Ravenclaws); Words [186](Limited); Hello Spring [04](Working in a garden); Crazy Cone Contraptions [06](Ravenclaw Character); Well Behaved Women [Luna Lovegood & Astoria Greengrass][Turned Left][Autism]; Days of the Year [June 19](Include a Forehead Kiss, a Neck Kiss, and/or Hand Kiss)(Bonus: Include all three.); Spring Theme [14](Seeds); Colors [01](Saffron); Birthstones [09]("Seeing you makes my day better every time."); Flowers [03](Taking a vacation/break); Tarot Cards [10](Happy Marriage); Earth Prompts [11](Plant Pot); Hufflepuff Prompts [12](Gentle); Spring Astrology [June 21](Fiesty); History of Spring [12](Write about a character/group of characters recovering from an illness/major injury.)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SpB [5C](Renewal); TrB [2B](Deal with the Devil); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity](Autism); Ship [Sp Big](Flower Pot);**  
Representation(s):** Luna/Astoria/Draco; Family; Grief & Mourning  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Demo (Spinning Plates; Corvid Brain); Demo (Tomorrow's Shade; Unicorn; Sailor Delight)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad)  
**Word Count:** 1007

(^^)  
**Love Grows**  
(^^)

Luna stuck her fingertip into the rich dirt that Scorpius had used to fill the pots lined out on the garden wall. She did the same each of the fourteen pots in turn. Nearby, Scorpius was practicing the growth spell on the alstroemeria seeds that would soon go into the holes she had just made. Strictly speaking, as only a second-year, he shouldn't be doing magic outside of lessons, but no one at the Ministry of Magic would be able to sense his magic here at Morningside Cottage. There were too many wards before even considering two adult wix.

She rubbed her cheek at the reminder of their lost husband. Unable to stop herself, Luna looked over at where Astoria was resting in a lounger. The redhead had been reading while Luna and Scorpius worked, but now she had her face turned towards the saffron sky, her book lying face down on her chest as she enjoyed the last rays of the setting sun. Luna's heart clenched at the memory of how close she—all of them, really—had come to losing the feisty witch to the blood curse of the Greengrass line.

Instead, Draco had sacrificed himself to break the curse's hold on Astoria.

Luna understood why her cousin would go to such lengths. Ever since Astoria had made her proposition that Luna join her and Draco's bond and carry the heir both had desperately craved as a way to keep the blood curse from claiming another generation, Luna had fallen a little bit more in love with Astoria every day. She was so passionate about everything, even when she had been so sick that she could barely sit up in bed. Astoria was a force of nature that could not be denied any more than a thunderstorm could be. Loving her was inevitable even with the knowledge that her time had been limited from the start.

Instead, it had been Draco who had been lost.

And Luna still didn't know how to deal with that. She didn't know how grieve for someone who shouldn't have died but readily did so in place of someone they had both loved for so many years. There was an emptiness in her world where Draco had been, and that spot _hurt_, but she couldn't do anything about it. She was stuck, just like she had been right after her mother's death.

She needed to meltdown, _to break_, but something was holding her back. Hopefully, she would last for the entirety of Scorpius' spring break from Hogwarts.

"Is this big enough, Mama?" Scorpius asked, drawing her attention back to the present. He was holding out a seed that had straggly roots and a single sprout grown to its first set of true leaves. He looked nervous, she decided, even though he had to know that other second-years (even his fellow Ravenclaws) wouldn't have been able to achieve the same results so quickly. But then Luna knew from experience, just as Astoria did, how much nerve-wracking being a Ravenclaw could be.

Everyone expected perfection right out of the gate for the entire House, no matter that there was more than one way to show intelligence just as there were multiple ways to be wise.

"It's perfect, baby," Luna told her son. She planted a kiss on his forehead to comfort him. "Why don't you go ahead and plant it? I'm going to check on Mummy."

Astoria smiled when Luna's shadow fell over her. Without even opening her eyes, she shifted enough so that Luna could curl up beside her on the lounger. Luna hid her face into the delicate curve of Astoria's neck. Astoria tilted her chin up, giving Luna room as well as signaling what she wanted. Obediently, Luna planted a kiss to the pale skin just over her pulse.

"How are you doing, love?" Astoria asked as gentle as a rainstorm. Just as gently, her fingers wrapped around Luna's before raising them to her lips. The kiss to her knuckles was butterfly soft and sweet as nectar. Something cracked just a bit inside her in the face of such careful handling.

"I miss him," she admitted, "and I don't understand why he just did it without consulting either of us, not even after being together for so long." Her eyes stung as did the back of her throat. Astoria played gently with her fingers. "I do understand why he did it at all. Seeing you makes my day better every time. I couldn't live in a world without you in it." She rubbed her cheek against Astoria's neck before continuing. "But I want him here, too. He should be here, and I don't know how to feel about that."

"It's okay not to know," Astoria whispered. Her other hand began to play with the loose ends of Luna's hair. Her voice sounded thick like it always did when she was about to cry. Astoria bussed her forehead much like she had their son's just moments priorly. "No one is going to push you to process faster than you can, love. Even Draco—" Astoria cleared her throat. "Even Draco would want you to go at your own pace. We both knew you operated differently when we bonded with you. Neither of us will begrudge you what you need."

"And you don't think it's silly?"

"Oh, I definitely think planting alstroemeria in the pattern of Draco silly," Astoria answered brightly. "But I also think that it's fitting. He's growing in me now. A memorial where I grow in him just makes sense, and it's even more right for you and Scorpius to be the ones planting it."

"Because love grows," Luna quoted. Astoria had used that argument when convincing Luna that there was room enough in her heart for both Draco and Luna, and then as a comfort when Luna had worried that she was no longer necessary after Scorpius had been born. It was now a well-worn blanket.

"Because love grows," Astoria agreed, "and grows, and grows, and grows."


	74. Ways to Fly

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Additionally, there are references to canon child abuse & manipulations. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So...who's pacing their houses like tigers in cages?

**Submitting Info:  
****Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Durmstrang MC; Magical MC (x3); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Claimed; Setting Sail; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Feathers & Such; Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon (Y); Greatest Gift  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 7  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [72](Ruthless); Words [217](Neutral); All is Ours Day [H2](Soulmates AU); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 3](Black Character)(Autistic Harry Potter); Herbology Club [Plot 1] (Soulmates AU); Days of the Year [May 23](Someone having a lucky turn of events); Spring Challenge [05](Happy); Color Prompts [10](Grape); Tarot Cards [02](Motherhood); Earth Element [06](Rich); Well Behaved Women (Claudia Zabini)(Wings AU)(Black Character); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T11](Courteous); Spring Astrology [June 5](Something good coming from a bad situation); History of Spring [03]("Strength of love" as Theme)]  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SpB [1D](Copper); TrB [3C](Applied Phlebotinum); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity](Synesthesia); Ship [Sp Micro 1](Creature AU); Chim (Family/Friendship)  
**Representation(s):** Claudia Zabini; autistic Harry Potter; Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini (pre-ship)  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Nontraditional; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Wabi Sabi); Demo (Most Human Bean); Demo (Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Intercept)  
**Word Count:** 1313

(^^)  
**Ways to Fly  
**(^^)

Claudia Zabini was not a woman who did anything by halves. She had absorbed all the lessons from her lineage at the knee of her mother. Poise under pressure was something she had learned along with ballet and etiquette. Through all her life, her mother's words had followed her, giving her strength and wisdom.

_Speak softly. Weigh your words. Know your power. Tread gently._

When she had attended Durmstrang, she had learned other lessons, ones more foreign to those of her kind. After all, what does a lorelai care for the meaningless syllables of a family name when scent alone screams alliances? But going through those frozen halls with only her own strength and skills to protect herself had taught her precision.

She had also waited until she had finished her Arithmancy apprenticeship to do the ritual which revealed that her soulmate was Antonio Zabini, heir to the Most Honorable House of Zabini. Meeting him, seeing his wings burst into being under the Sicillian sun—it was all perfect. For days, they had both revelled in learning about their new appendages as well as each other. They had bonded quickly, quite scandalously, but neither of them could stand to be without the other for another moment. Blaise was likely conceived during their honeymoon.

Antonio had been killed just days before Blaise had been born, along with the rest of his family. In a single night, she had gone from happily bonded to her soulmate and a part of a large extended family to alone and pregnant, as her mother had passed away shortly before Claudia had graduated from Durmstrang.

She had never discovered which side of Britain's civil war had been responsible. Antonio had been staunchly rebuffing emissaries from both mad men. All the way back to its founding during the Roman occupation of Britannia, the House of Zabini had been neutral. That neutrality had allowed more than one generation to broker peace between feuding groups while allowing them to protect noncombatants. Neither the self-proclaimed Dark Lord nor the alleged Leader of the Light had approved of the Zabini neutrality. Both were known for their ruthlessness.

When the invitation letter from Hogwarts came, Claudia wanted nothing more than to send back a politely worded refusal. Yet she hesitated. Her son, her brilliant and shrewd son, had lost his father before he had even been born. Then every time she sought to give him another parent, magic saw fit to steal them away. What if by keeping Blaise from Hogwarts, she stole precious years he could have with his own soulmate?

The ritual to reveal the name of Blaise's soulmate had netted surprising results. Magic had a sense of humor when she made her selections, true enough, but never in her wildest dreams did Claudia imagine that her precious child would be matched with the last scion of the Eternal House of Peverell. The Potters were once as large a family as the Blacks, before illness and war whittled them down to only an heir that had not been seen since he failed to die from an alleged direct hit of the Killing Curse from the self-styled Dark Lord himself. That same child now had no one to speak with to arrange a formal meeting.

So Claudia did what any self-respecting mother would have done.

She took care of everything.

(^^)

Harry kicked his feet, too nervous to stay still. Hedwig chittered in her cage. Perched on top of his truck as it was, the owl was right at eye level. He could tell that she was trying to make eye contact, like how they had been practicing the last month, but his mind was too occupied to spare the effort that the action would take.

Uncle Vernon had laughed before he had left Harry here. It had been a huge joke to him that the ticket Hagrid had left him was for a train leaving from a platform that didn't exist. Alone in this busy place, Harry didn't think it was quite so funny. In fact, he was as close to actually crying as he had been for years.

It wasn't _fair_.

Magic had explained everything. It explained why the strange things kept happening around him. It explained why things bothered him when they didn't bother anyone else. It explained why he couldn't do some of the things that everyone else could do so easily—simple things like eye contact or pullups. It would even explain why he heard spaces or felt sounds.

Hogwarts was supposed to be his turn to be around others like him.

_It wasn't fair_.

"You look lost," a woman said as she sat beside him on the bench. She wore a fine dress, the kind that would have made Aunt Petunia filled with bitter jealousy, except that it was a brilliant shade of purple—like a grape. No one as pale as Aunt Petunia would be able to wear it without looking sick. Paired with the woman's dark skin, it was dramatic but nice. "You also look like you could use a friend."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," Harry said by rote. Hedwig clacked her beak in agreement. The woman just smiled and waved her fingers at the owl.

"My name is Claudia Zabini," she said, "and you're Haridard Potter."

"It's 'Harry'," he corrected. "You must have the wrong person."

"Of course," Claudia agreed. He eyed her without turning his head fully. "Why would you recognize the name your mother gave you? Who would have told you?"

"Why?" Harry asked, exhausted already and it wasn't even eleven o'clock yet. He still had to find a way back to Little Whinging. "Why do you care?"

"I believe that we can help each other," Claudia said like she was the rich lady of a fine house on one of Aunt Petunia's telly shows. "You are in need of an ally, someone who could actually protect you. I can be that ally, if you wish."

"What's in it for you?" Harry asked. If he learned nothing else from the Dursleys, it was that nothing was free. At least, nothing was free for him. Other children might get things like food or hugs without earning them. He was different. He had always been different.

_It just wasn't fair_.

"I get to see you happy," she said, turning him to fully face her. "I get to see you healthy and safe—loved, just like any mother would want for her child."

"No one would love me," he muttered. He couldn't bear to raise his eyes to her face. Her hands were cool against his cheeks as she cupped them.

"Let me prove you wrong, little one." She waved someone over before taking his left hand in her right one. "I can give you a family that treasures you as you deserve, as you should have been treated all your life."

"Really?" He hated how weak his voice sounded. Having everything he ever hoped for seemingly within his grasp hurt, but like an old scab, he couldn't help but pick at it. "Can you really do all that?"

"I can, little one," Claudia promised. A hand joined theirs over the back of the bench. Unable to stop himself, Harry raised his eyes to look at the new person. The boy had the same dark beauty that Claudia did. Most startling, his eyes were the exact same shade of purple as Claudia's dress.

The world faded away as Harry lost himself in a sea of blue-violet. He was only dimly aware of something flexing and fluttering behind him. He was too caught by that gaze and the copper wings that now framed the boy on either side. By careful inches, the boy came closer until they touched foreheads.

Harry let out a breath as his eyes slid shut.

Things were finally starting to seem a bit more fair.


	75. Mission: Biscuit

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There is also references to food issues & internalized ableism. Oh, and a blink & you miss it reference to eugenics. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** If no one else was going to help Harry, then Luna would just have to do it herself. Luckily, she gets some allies along the way. Also, head's up: as always Luna & Harry are autistic; the Potters are Desi; and Luna's mother doesn't have a cursed name.

**For Emphasis:** This fic contains food issues AKA _an eating disorder_. Specifically, it contains Disordered Eating – Unspecified…which honestly means that we aren't good at remembering to do it or remembering to do it in the right amounts. Yes, this is a real eating disorder. Yes, it can be just as serious as Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia. No, I will not accept denial of these things. This fic also contains friends being sneaky about helping with it (and touch-starvation), which admittedly skirts consent even if it does help.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x3); Ravenclaw MC; Magical MC (x4); Artist MC; Neurodivergent (x3); Rian-Russo Inversion (x2) (Y x1); Ethnic & Present; Lovely Triangle (Y); Setting Sails; Booger Breath; Hold the Mayo; Lunar Era (Y); Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon (Y); Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Criminology (Task#1: Write about someone actively working to accomplish a goal.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [325](Luna Lovegood); Words [88](Epiphany); Herbology [Individual Plot] (Sweet); Pinata [Easy](Poly Ships); All is Ours Day [R02](Romance); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 2](Disordered Eating - Unspecified)(Autistic Luna & Harry); Days of the Year [April 1st](Fred and/or George Weasley); Spring Challenge [02](Melt); Color Prompts [02](Mint); Birthstones [08]("I trust you"); Tarot Cards [01](Leadership); Earth Element [08](Rocky); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T04](Patient)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SpB [4B](Warmth); TrB [1A](Five Man Band); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity](Severe/Chronic Allergy); Ship (Lunar Lion /George Weasley)[Sp Medium 1](Acts of Service); Chim (Family/Friendship; Baked Goods)**  
Representation(s):** Harry Potter/Luna Lovegood/George Weasley; Desi & Autistic Harry Potter; Autistic Luna Lovegood  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Fizzy Lemonade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi); Demo (Nightigale); Demo (In the Trench; Gingersnap)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Spare)  
**Word Count:** 1427

(^^)  
**Mission: Biscuit**  
(^^)

Luna understood from nearly the first time she had seen him (during lunch on her first day at Hogwarts) that Harry was like her. She was good at observing people, even when they didn't always make sense. She also knew how to spot others like her, for all that they were relatively rare in the magical world.

(She understood that rarity was not a natural occurrence and had everything to do with the same reason why Squibs were considered rare. Mama and Daddy hadn't told her what reason that was, but Luna had read lots of books in the library in Ottery St. Catchpole. She had a theory of what it could be and why her parents wouldn't want to tell her.)

The thing about being like her was that it meant that sometimes things that everyone else did without any issues were impossible to even attempt. Mama had taught her all kinds of tricks for dealing with those things, which had also helped Daddy after she died. Because she watched Harry from afar for so long, she knew that no one had taught him any tricks. Given how frustrated he seemed whenever something allegedly easy became impossible for him, she wondered if he even realized that it was normal for people like them.

When the Defense Association started, Luna happily accepted the friendships it created. She wasn't really happy with everyone. Hermione was very mean about things she hadn't already read about, and the Weasleys still liked to call her names like they had before Hogwarts. Well, Fred and George didn't, but then they never had joined into Ronald and Ginny's teasing. Neville was very nice—and Luna was delighted to discover that he was like her, too.

Being so close to Harry made Luna realize just how often Harry didn't eat enough or worse, simply didn't eat at all.

Luna didn't think that anyone else noticed. That was fine. She was used to noticing things that most people didn't. It wasn't even the only thing about Harry that other people seemed to miss.

Everyone seemed to miss how often he disappeared to the library or just slipped away to be by himself. Everyone seemed to miss how he didn't care about Quidditch, only about being allowed to fly. Everyone overlooked how he watched everyone's casual touches with longing but couldn't bring himself to even ask for what he obviously wanted.

If no one else noticed, then it was up to her to do something, right?

Luna started by sitting closer to him during meetings of the Defense Association. Harry looked at her like he didn't understand, but when she didn't do the weird eyelashes thing that Ginny did, he seemed to accept her presence. It only took a couple meetings before Harry began leaning closer to her. The first time their shoulders bumped, she was certain that he had forgotten how to breathe.

Fortunately, returning the bump had jolted him out of that frozen state.

That apparently had caught George's attention. Much to the growing annoyance of Ginny, George started taking the space on Harry's other side during meetings, and both the twins started bracketing him during meals. Somehow the Weasley twins managed to convince Neville to start doing during classes. The three Gryffindors also assured her (when they reported like they all shared a secret mission and Luna was somehow their handler—which was so sweet that she had trouble not wiggling her fingers in delight) that they had taken to doing the same closeness when in their common room.

With more people now sharing the effort to give Harry tactile comfort, Luna began planning how to get Harry to eat more. George helped there, too. She would say that Fred also helped but she knew it was George who could get Harry to actually eat the food on his plate during mealtimes. Fred was just better at directing attention away from Harry.

It was during the winter break that Luna had her epiphany. She spent the rest of her time baking her mother's favorite biscuit recipe. Dione had hated the British tradition of putting a red jam in their jammy dodgers. Mostly because she was deathly allergic to red fruit. Instead, she made her own jammy dodgers at home and used blackberry jam. Because Luna's mother was just as awesome as the Titaness whose name she bore, Dione would also pour melted chocolate over the finished products.

…maybe four dozen batches of chocolate-covered blackberry jammy dodgers were a bit much.

Luna found the compartment that Harry was sharing with the Weasley twins easily when the break was done. She was both surprised and not to find Harry tucked into the corner closest to the windows with George right beside him. The pair had been growing closer since this whole project had started, no doubt helped along by how Harry can always tell the twins apart. (She could as well, but most other people seemed to struggle with the task. She didn't understand why they struggled, but she guessed that she didn't have to, did she?) Humming a song that her mother used to sing, she settled down on the compartment floor in front of Harry.

"There's seats, Luna," Harry protested weakly. She tilted her head backwards to see him. "You can't spend the entire train ride down there. It wouldn't be comfortable."

"I know," she said. "If I get uncomfortable, I'll move to either your or George's lap. Jammy dodger?"

She pulled one of the biscuit tins out of her expanded satchel and offered it to him. He only slumped and shook his head. To make matters even worse, he hunched into himself like he was avoiding a blow.

"He doesn't like red things," George said as he took one of the chocolate-covered cookies. He held up to Harry whose light brown skin was darkening in the face. Luna twisted herself to watch better. "Do you trust me?"

Harry swallowed like he had a lump in his throat. Even from her angle on the floor, she could see that his eyes were wide behind his glasses. They were also paler than usual, more of a mint than their normal emerald. It worried her, but not as much as it would have if she didn't know he had spent the break with the twins.

Finally, Harry nodded.

"I trust you," he whispered. The words sounded like they had escaped instead of just being spoken. He reached out to take the cookie only for George to move it out of his reach. Harry's bottom lip trembled with the betrayal that flashed across his face. George didn't let his resolve melt, though, not like Luna would have. He held out the cookie again, this making his intent to feed it to Harry clearer.

For a long moment, no one moved. Even both twins were uncharacteristically still. Then Harry leaned forward and took a bit of the held food. He chewed like a man drinking poison. He swallowed and licked his lips just as cautiously.

"Blackberry?" he asked.

"Mum was allergic to red fruit," Luna answered, "and loved chocolate."

"French?"

"She was Greek," Luna said before realizing that he had probably been talking about the chocolate. "Yeah, it's the best European source for dark chocolate."

George held up the rest of the jammy dodger in his hand. This time Harry didn't hesitate to finish it. Judging by the growing blush on George's cheeks, Harry might have added more tongue to the maneuver than was strictly necessary.

With George feeding him, they managed to get through one of the dozens of cookies by the time Neville found them and Ginny had come back from visiting her boyfriend (she was dating either Michael Corner or Anthony Goldstein, but Luna wasn't in the Ravenclaw common room often enough to remember which). Shortly afterwards, Ron and Hermione arrived from their prefect meeting and then doing their rounds.

When Luna finally got uncomfortable on the floor, just as Harry had predicted she would, she draped herself over Harry and George's laps like she was a giant kneazle. Neither half of the couple seemed to mind. No one in the compartment seemed to notice how Harry hid his face in her neck as he finally lost the tension that had been filling his bony frame when she had arrived.

The year had had a bit of rocky start, but things were finally starting to look brighter.

Especially since George was willing to give her just as many head scritches as he was Harry.


	76. Sparking Joy

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also blatant misgendering and a trans person being triggered because of it; blatant homophobia and ableism, too. Overall, Karen Finch-Fletchley is very much a Karen. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Not really a warning per se, but because Theo is trans and pregnant, there are some mpreg feels to this piece, in addition to all the warnings above.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Aya Bribes You; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x2); Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Ship Sails; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Eating Cake; Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Swimming Lessons (Task#1: Write about facing your fears.) [Prompt: Coral]  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [337](Theodore Nott); Words [144](Horrid); Herbology Club [Individual Plots](Sharing); All is Ours Day [S01](Angst); Gwen's Candy Shop [Bowl 4](ftm Trans Theodore Nott)(Autistic Luna); Days of the Year [March 30th](Someone gaining strength in a stressful situation); Spring Challenge [07](Fresh); Color Prompts [03](Coral); Birthstones [02]("I'm not as damaged as I seem, I swear."); Flower Prompts [05](Finding out about a pregnancy); Tarot Cards [06](Belonging); Earth Element [10](Nurture); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T09](Earnest)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SpB [5E](Pink); TrB [5E](Just In Time); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity](ftm Trans Character); Ship [Sp Medium 1](Shared Blanket); Chim [Doug](Family/Friendship)**  
Representation(s):** Theodore Nott/Justin Finch-Fletchley; Theodore Nott/Luna Lovegood QPR; trans Theo; Autistic Luna  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional Sneeze Weasel; Teat Juice; Zucchini Bread; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi); Demo (Where Angels Fear); Demo (A Long Dog)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Intercept)  
**Word Count:** 1336

(^^)  
**Sparking Joy**  
(^^)

Theodore Nott had known that Justin Finch-Fletchley was a Muggle-born when they had gotten together. He had known that their different backgrounds meant that there were going to be unique obstacles for them to surmount. Even with how long Theo had lived as himself (long enough that very few people even remembered that there had once been an heiress named Theodosia Nott), he had still not fully anticipated just how much that part of his history might affect his relationship with Justin.

Well, not with Justin, exactly.

Justin was sincerely perfect, even if he would deny that epithet.

No, the problem was not Justin.

It was his _family_.

The Finches were as populous as a swarm of Cornish pixies and their claws twice as sharp. Once any of them managed to get him cornered, escape as a futile as teaching a fobberworm to do tricks. He knew things about Aunt Edith's intestinal issues that he would never be able to forget. Grandmother Hortensia had grout and a disturbing degree of willingness to flirt with a taken man several decades her junior. Cousin Sophia was actually helpful with her tips for managing pregnancy issues. Theo hadn't minded that conversation until Sophia started going into far more details than a man not her husband needed to know.

That was just _one side_ of Justin's family.

The Fletchleys were a completely different problem.

The Finches might overshare and not notice (or care) if their audience wanted nothing to do with the topic. Yet they were overwhelmingly welcoming—to the point that Theo often felt like he was literally drowning in their affection. They didn't care that Justin had chosen to spend his life with another man. When the pregnancy had come to light, most of their first question was if it was a magic thing. Then they followed up with various concerns focused entirely on his and the baby's physical health.

On the other hand, the Fletchleys had been lukewarm (at best) about their youngest scion settling down with a man. Justin's mother Karen had even asked if Justin was trying to make a point. Then she had asked if it was a part of his condition. Only Justin's hand on his thigh had kept Theo from giving into the urge to hex the woman.

The very implication that being gay was a symptom of Justin's autism was flippant.

Merlin, the woman was _his mother_.

They both left that dinner with every intention to never speak to the couple again, regardless of familial relation.

Then the pregnancy had happened, and of course, one of the Finches had mentioned it in passing to the other half of the family.

"You cannot be serious, darling," Karen announced as she laid out an admittedly gorgeous dress on the armchair in Justin's living room. Theo was regretting deciding to stay after Justin had left for work. Curse the man and his excellent taste in divans. Double curse the man for having such a nosy and pushy mother. "Now that you're expecting, continuing this little act will only confuse people! And this coral will look so lovely on you."

Theo took a deep breath. He fiercely reminded himself that Justin did actually care about his mother, despite their estrangement. Just as strongly, he reminded himself that getting law enforcement (Muggle or magical) involved was just asking for trouble. He couldn't—absolutely _could not_—just hex her and be done with it.

It didn't matter how much he hated the coral dress she had brought him.

It didn't matter how much the very sight of it made him remember fighting with his father about appropriate attire for girls of his station.

It didn't matter how much he just wanted to vomit at the thought of being mistaken for a woman just because he was currently pregnant.

Actually, that probably did matter.

At least Karen was kind enough to rub his back as he emptied his stomach into the toilet of the guest bathroom. Theo still wished that she would either leave (taking the horrid piece of clothing with her) or stop talking about it. He couldn't handle facing his greatest fear about this whole situation, not without Justin there and not while he was just so tired.

"Theodore," Luna called from the kitchen. She had to have just used the Apparation point in the back garden. He could hear her moving closer. "Harry made fresh biscuits and thought—Oh, hello. I don't know you."

"Do you normally just walk into another person's house, young lady?" Karen asked waspishly. Theo moaned in misery. He just wanted her gone already.

"Are you normally this mean to complete strangers?" Luna asked. She sounded like she was genuinely interested in knowing the answer. Theo would have been fooled if he hadn't witnessed her using the same tone on both Ginny and Hermione when the pair had decided to challenge her relationship with Harry. "That's not a good way to make friends, you know."

"I don't appreciate your attitude," Karen said, even more snappish. "Leave my son's wife alone! She's sick!"

"Oh," Luna said as if she had just realized something. "I didn't realize that you were confused. Would you like help finding your son's wife?"

"She's right here!"

Theo peeked up just in time to see Luna actually looking around for the person that Karen was referencing. He didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry more at her missing the obvious conclusion. His best friend's acceptance was just as perfect as Justin's.

Curses, he was definitely tearing up. Stupid hormones.

"Is she invisible?" Luna asked. "Is that the sickness? I think my father had a cousin that happened to—but then Throckmorton was always getting into odd pickles. Even ones, too."

The blonde's flippancy gave Theo enough strength to pick himself up off the floor. Karen was still gaping at Luna. Trying to steel himself against both tears and panic, Theo leveled his gaze at the woman who raised the man he loved.

"I think it's time you left," Theo stated. Channeling everything that he had ever learned in the elocution lessons his father had forced him to attend, he kept his voice from wobbling with the nerves filling his gut. "I think you should leave and think very hard about whether you want to be a part of your grandchild's life."

"Of course I want to be a part of their life!" Karen protested. "I just think you should stop pretending to be a man—you know, for the baby's sake. They're going to need a mother to nurture them, and how can any man do that?"

"Leave," Theo ordered. Karen looked like she was going to protest. Ruthlessly, he cut her off. "Just leave."

Luna retreated just enough to let the other woman pass. The door slammed a few moments later. Immediately, he was back hunched over the toilet. This time the sick was definitely more from nerves than morning sickness. When his stomach had settled, Luna was back. She wordlessly handed him a small glass of milk, which he downed like a shot. Then she wrapped them both in a blanket that she must have pulled from the cedar trunk at the foot of his bed.

"I'm not as damaged as I seem, I swear," he murmured after a few minutes of cuddling. "It's just…she showed up with that dratted _thing_, and it was like I was five again."

"I don't remember you," Luna returned, seemingly disconnectedly. "Not that way, at least. I know that you used to be called Theodosia, and that you used to be mistaken for a girl, but in my memories, you've always been Theodore. I forget sometimes that there's still people who can't see that." She shifted slightly to wrap an arm around his waist. "I vanished the dress by the way. It didn't spark joy."

Theo chuckled wetly before finally giving into the tears that had been threatening throughout all of Karen's visit. Luna held him through it.


	77. Suffer in Silence

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Additionally, there are references to canon child abuse but this time with an ableistic twist! Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Head's up, y'all: my genderbent Sirius is hard of hearing. She has problems hearing a particular set of sounds. Since she's my narrator, you get to miss what she does. That's why there seems to be a lot of em dashes stuck randomly in the dialogue. As a final note, Zeta is another star in Canis Major and Rhea Silvia is the priestess who gave birth to Romulus & Remus after a tryst with Mars (god of war). You know, in case you were wondering where I pulled those names from for my fem version of Sirius & Remus.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Aya Bribes You (Y); Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x3) (Y); Magical MC (x3); Rian-Russo Inversion (x3) (Y); Ethnic & Present (x2); Disabled; The 3rd Rule; Lovely Triangle; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo (x2); Gender Bender (x2); Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Herbology (Task#2: Write about someone suffering stress.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [04](Marble); 365 [37](Broken); Pinata [Hard] (Femslash); Herbology [Settings](School); Cat Collecting [17](Write about someone with a physical difference or disability from others.); Foolish Fish Tanks [D17] (Soulmate AU)[Marauders]; Days of the Year [May 6th](Someone acting impulsively); Spring Theme [28]("You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot stop spring from coming." - Pablo Nureba); Hufflepuff Challenge [T15](Dutiful)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [1C](Blossom/Flower); Tr Bingo [2C](Masquerade); Ship [Sp Micro 1](Soul Marks AU); Hunt [Sp Writing Diversity](Deaf/HoH Character); Chim [Doug](Family/Friendship)**  
Representation(s):** Remus Lupin/Sirius Black/Lily Evans (pre-ship); Fem Remus Lupin & Sirius Black; Hard of Hearing Sirius Black  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail; Spare)  
**Word Count:** 979

(^^)  
**Suffer in Silence**  
(^^)

Zeta Black came into the world during the night when the Veil was thinnest. From that very first moment, she had been the loudest person in the room. Of course, she never seemed to notice when she was speaking louder than what others would consider appropriate. To Zeta, she was merely talking loud enough to be heard.

Likewise, Zeta was always surprised when others told her that she was interrupting conversations. That part thoroughly annoyed her mother. The old witch was fast with her wand when she wanted to be, and something about Zeta made her really want to be.

Zeta comforted herself with how she never pointed her wand at Regulus.

She could handle a bit of pain. She would handle a lot more to protect her little brother.

Then Zeta had gone to Hogwarts.

The Sorting Hat had barely given her a chance to beg before it had declared her a Gryffindor. Her heart had pounded so hard within her chest that she had been sure that it was going to burst out and go screaming down the front lawn. Her cousin Bellatrix had looked like she would have gladly helped. Her other cousin Andromeda had looked like she had been carved from marble. She just knew that she would be disowned before breakfast.

She had known that she was doomed. She had known that the entire room had to be whispering about how much of a failure she was, even if she couldn't really hear it. What Black failed to get into even Ravenclaw? She must really be just as stupid as her mother had always screamed.

A girl slumped into the spot next to her, clearly trying to look invisible. The red-haired girl who had sat down across from Zeta grinned at the new girl. She made several elaborate gestures towards the other girl. Every motion had an excited sharpness to it. Zeta's confusion only mounted when the girl started returning the gestures.

The girl noticed Zeta watching and said something. Zeta felt like the slimiest flobberworm when she couldn't make out what it was over the muffled din that filled the Great Hall. Her smile faded as she took too long to cover up her blunder. Instead of getting angry like her mother always did, the girl's dark hands moved again, like they had during her exchange with the girl beside Zeta.

Something light and fizzy filled her stomach, making her feel like she was about to float away forever.

A touch to her arm tethered her to the present.

"Can—hear me?" the girl asked, very carefully. Zeta gave her the lopsided grin that annoyed his mother the most. The girl returned the smile, even if the expression pulled at the trio of scars across her cheek in a way that must be uncomfortable. When she continued, her dark tan hands also moved but slow enough that Zeta could tell that the gestures must have some actual meaning. "My name is Rhea Lupin. That is Lily Evans. Do—any sign?"

"Only the ones of death," Zeta declared. She nearly flinched when several other Gryffindor twisted to look at them. She must have spoken too loudly again. Still, she was a Black (at least for now) and it shouldn't matter what peons thought. "Zeta Black—do you know any gods of war? Is that where you got your scars?"

"That's—yes, Lily, but she doesn't seem—" Rhea held up a hand, probably meaning for Zeta to wait. Acting on an instinct that she didn't fully understand, Zeta pressed her own hand against it.

Their palms heated where they touched. Rhea's warm brown eyes heated to molten gold as they widened in shock. The heat spread as ribbons of colored light twisted around both their wrists and up their forearms. When the light faded, Rhea had a ribbon of royal purple tattooed into the tan skin while Zeta had one of stormy gray edged with the same gold that Rhea's eyes had turned.

"But I don't understand," Rhea said. She raised her other arm. The motion made the oversized sleeve fall back, revealing an emerald ribbon wrapped around that forearm. "Why would I have t— marks?"

"I bet I —" Lily declared. The redhead reached across the table to grab Zeta's other wrist. The moment their skin touched, the magic surged again. When the light faded again, Zeta had an emerald ribbon that matched the one on Rhea's arm. The royal purple now wrapping around Lily's arm was barely visible against her dark skin. "See? We're all matched!"

Zeta felt something quiver inside of her at the thought. It wasn't exactly rare to find one's soul match. Plenty of people actually managed it. Yet she had been dragged through so many matching parties, and so many times she had been left by the sidelines. She was the broken Black, the flawed one. Her mother had lectured for years about how Zeta was so useless that she couldn't even be married off properly.

Yet she had two matches, and she had found them both by accident.

Lily squeezed Zeta's hand before letting go to sit up. Carefully, Rhea laced her fingers through Zeta's. In turn, Zeta tightened her grip in hopes to reassure the scarred girl. She no longer cared about her mother possibly throwing her out for being sorted wrong. Maybe her grandparents would be willing to take her in, if her mother did so. (Grandmother Melania had always disliked how Zeta's mother acted as if she was already the matriarch of the House of Black. Now that she wasn't stressing about everything and on the verge of a panic attack, Zeta thought that Grandmother might do it just to snub Walburga.)

Suddenly, the Hat sending her to Gryffindor changed from just another source of stress in her life to the best thing to possibly ever happen to her.


	78. Somewhere Higher

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Also, while Lily is not suicidal, Remus & SIrius believe that she is and she did deliberately put herself in danger. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** I'm sort of chasing both a pinata for sapphic ships and crossing off several prompts for one of my favorite poly ships. So have some dragon!Lily as well as Celestial Petal.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Uncharted Waters; Aya Bribes You; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x3) (Y); Magical MC (x3) (Y); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x3) (Y); Ethnic & Present; The 3rd Rule; Lovely Triangle; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender (x2); Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Feathers & Such; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green RIbbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Geology (Task#2: Write about a dragon.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [826](The Astronomy Tower); Words [148](House); Cat Collecting [13](Write about going through a change in appearance.); Foolish Fish Tanks [Decoration](Persistent)(Marauders); Days of the Year [April 4th](Someone getting caught out in a lie); Spring Challenge [13](Cardigan); Color Prompts [06](Scarlet); Birthstones [04]("Darling, don't try that. You know it'll never work."); Earth Element [09](Rooted); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T06](Tolerant)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SpB [3A](Fire); TrB [1B](Blatant Lies); Hunt [Sp Settings](Castle); Ship [Sp Micro 2](Dragon AU); Chim [Doug] (Family/Friendship; "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)**  
Representation(s):** Lily Evans Potter/Remus Lupin/Sirius Black; Italian Remus Lupin; Dragon Lily Evans; fem Remus Lupin & Sirius Black  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terrarium); SN (Rail; Ameliorate)  
**Word Count:** 1333

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**Somewhere Higher**  
(^^)

The concept had always intrigued Lily. Her favorite fairy tales as a child had always involved someone being transformed into some kind of creature. When the strange boy had burst out of the bushes to declare that not only was magic real but that she was a witch, Lily had felt like her heart would burst from her chest from the hope swelling within her.

She could handle all of Petunia's sneers finally. She could deal with her stepfather's distracted distance as well as her mother's backhanded compliments. She could even handle the weird obsession that Severus seemed to have with her.

And it was all bearable because for the first time in her short life, the thing hidden in her didn't feel like it was going to tear her apart to get free. It had settled into a patient simmer, as if now that she knew transformation was possible, it was willing to wait.

Lily had never been good at waiting. She didn't want to walk when she could run. She didn't want to run when she could fly. God, how many times had she climbed as high as she could just for the glorious freedom she found in the moments before she landed? It freaked out Petunia and after Severus had revealed his spying, his eyes gleamed every time he watched her do it.

She craved wings the same way that someone dying of thirst wanted water. She could feel the ache of needing to stretch them in the same way she did if she sat in one position for too long. If she could only figure out the logistics of it, she would have claimed that her father had been some kind of winged creature rather than human. Severus said such a thing was impossible, but something with Lily disagreed. The desire to _just fly_ was rooted in her soul as strongly as any ditchweed.

The Hat debated viciously against itself on where to sort her. She had barely been able to keep from laughing at it seemed to have four separate personalities, all with the same voice and arguing four different conclusions. The effect was hilarious, even as the murmur of the Great Hall grew in volume as it continued.

The thing within her seemed to roar in triumph when the Sorting Hat finally sent her to Gryffindor. When Rhea Lupin was sorted into the same House (despite how nervous she had been on the train), Lily easily made room for her to sit next to her. The thing within her purred at the nearness of the other girl. It also purred whenever Zeta Black was close.

The three of them quickly became close friends, even though both Rhea and Zeta seemed to have adopted two boys in their year that Lily could barely stand any more than Rhea and Zeta could stand Severus. All three of the boys quickly became annoying in that unique way that boys always did. The way they jealously sniped at each other over any attention from the girls made the thing within Lily want to snarl and snap at them.

Some days it grew so bad that the only thing which would allow her to relax was a cuddle pile in front of the Gryffindor fireplace. Both Rhea and Zeta seemed to enjoy that just as much as Lily did. Zeta was like an overly large poodle, even down to demanding belly rubs from Lily and Rhea. Meanwhile, Rhea loved nothing better than tucking her face against a side or shoulder as if soaking in the scent of whoever was cuddling her. Lily was more than willing to provide comfort however they desired, just for the chance to hold them for a bit.

Lily had found the mention as a footnote in a book on magical creatures in their fifth year. Most books on the topic didn't acknowledge that many magical creatures had sentience. Even the ones known for breeding with humans or which were made from humans were treated as if they were beastial and not worth the same consideration as humans. Finding a book that didn't do that had been difficult but worth it.

All for a single line about how certain dragons had the ability to take human form.

The information settled on her soul with all the titanic weight of an entire drove of dragons. Yet instead of feeling like she was being crushed, Lily felt like she always did when she jumped off of things. How much of those stolen moments of freedom had been her magic controlling her falls? How much had been her true form bleeding through?

What would it take to fully transform?

"You're making me nervous," Rhea told her. Lily turned away from the impressive view that the Astronomy Tower offered. Rhea looked pale, despite the golden brown of her natural skin color. Her scarlet cardigan fluttered in the wind that whipped through the observatory room. Zeta looked as if she was calculating how to yank Lily back to the relative safety of the tower's floor instead of the window's edge where she was standing. "Come back to us? Please, love?"

"Do you ever feel like you fly if you were just brave enough to take the first step?"

"Darling," Zeta said as she crept closer, "don't try that. You know it'll never work."

"Actually," Lily corrected, turning back towards the sky, "I think it would."

"Please tell me that you're not planning on jumping," Rhea begged. Hearing the desperation in the voice of someone she loved so much was nearly enough to have Lily abandoning her idea. Two equally powerful forces warred with her: the desire to take flight and her protective love of her favorite people. Rhea's voice cracked as she continued and Lily's heart echoed it. "Don't go where we can't follow, love."

"I don't plan on jumping," Lily said. Even over the howling wind, she heard Zeta draw in a sudden breath. Lily twisted to look at the other girl. Zeta looked faintly ill.

"You're lying," Zeta accused. "Why would you lie about something like that? Are we not enough for you?"

"I'm not lying," Lily stated, steeling herself against both Rhea and Zeta's pain. She looked out over the trees to the setting sun that had turned the entire sky to a rapidly darkening scarlet. "I don't plan on jumping."

_I plan on flying_.

She stepped off of the ledge into the open air. Zeta's fingers barely missed grabbing hold of her bare arm. For one terrifying moment, Lily feared that she had miscalculated and was going to break the unspoken promise of what had been growing between her, Rhea, and Zeta. For one terrifying moment, she thought that not even her magic, so used to catching her in freefalls, wouldn't be enough to stop the death rushing towards her.

Then the transformation rolled over her with all the force of an inferno. She stretched into it, like relaxing into an exhale after holding one's breath. Her wings snapped open to catch her as her newly acquired tail whipped through the wind behind her.

'_I am fire. I am death_.'

Lily circled the grounds three times before landing delicately on the top of the Astronomy Tower. To stake her claim over the territory, she released a spout of flames into the air. A flock of thestrals burst out of the Forbidden Forest like startled birds. She let out a roar that shook the windows of the castle.

Eventually, she returned to the observatory room, where Rhea and Zeta were huddled together. As soon as she slid through the window, they both lunged at her. Their tight grips were going to leave bruises, which she deserved for worrying her mates like she had. Lily pressed first one forehead and then the other.

She was more than willing to do whatever they deemed necessary to comfort them and reassure them that she would never go where they could not follow again.


	79. Best of Wives

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Also, there are references to sexual activities, cheating, and an STD. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** I'm vehemently anti-Orange Crush, for various reasons. Thus, naturally, when I needed a couple to break up because of cheating, that's where I went. So, head's up, folks: this fic is Not Ginny Friendly. Also, I'm giggling over a difference in slang between the US & the UK, which I had to look up to verify that I was using the term correctly for what I wanted to say. (Fellow Americans, to avoid as much confusion as possible, 'fanny' doesn't mean 'butt' to the Brits like it does to us.)

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Beauty in the Abstract; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC (x2); Magical MC (x4); Neurodivergent (x2); Rian-Russo Inversion (x2) (Y); Ethnic & Present; Small Fry; Shipwreck; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Contemporary Circus Performance (Task#4: Write about a married person having an affair.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [291](Harry Potter); 365 [68](Delicate); Cat Collecting [16](Write about a loyal person); Foolish Fish Tanks [D03](Family); Days of the Year [June 4th](A Gryffindor being hugged by someone in another House); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T03](Fair); History of Spring [10]('A Long Day' or 'A Long Night');  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SpB [1A](Eggs); TrB [5C](Stalker with a Crush); Hunt [Sp Consumables](Fruit); Ship [Sp Medium 2](Fruit); Chim [Doug] (Family/Friendship; "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)**  
Representation(s):** Autistic Harry Potter; Harry/Ginny; Harry/Luna QPR  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Teat Juice; Zucchini Bread; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Negate)  
**Word Count:** 1516

(^^)  
**Best of Wives**  
(^^)

Harry married Ginny just over a year after the war had ended. It had seemed the natural thing to do. Everyone wanted them to be together. Everyone commented on how it was destiny, because of how much he looked like his father and she looked like his mother. She had wanted him for so long, as Ron and Hermione would remind him. She had loved ever since she was a little girl.

Besides, marrying Ginny meant that Teddy would have a mother-figure in his life. Andromeda had been the one to make that comment during their shared cup of tea after they had managed to get Teddy settled for the night.

"I would be a hypocrite of the highest order if I suggested marrying for duty," Andromeda had said at the time, "because it was not familial duty that had me stealing my fellow Bird and running away, first figuratively and then literally. I loved Ted, with all my heart and soul, but I honestly don't think I could have managed to raise Nymphadora on my own if I had lost him when she had been young. Find yourself a partner, Harry. It will make things easier."

Amongst their friend group, there had only been one person who voiced any concerns.

"I don't think Ginny would make a very good wife," Luna had mentioned as she attempted to convince Teddy to eat his scrambled eggs instead of throw them. The nine-month-old had already painted his high chair with his pureed had matched most of his coloring to Luna's pale golden skin and dirty blond hair. The only exception had been the copying of Harry's emerald eyes. It made something within Harry feel sore and sensitive. He sipped from his glass of milk to distract himself. "She enjoys falling in love a lot. That's not something that bodes well for a lasting marriage."

"Ginny wants to marry me," Harry had protested at the time. "That has to mean something, right?"

"If you say so," Luna had agreed.

So Harry had married Ginny on a beautiful day in July. Mrs. Weasley—or Molly, as she insisted he called her now that he was officially a part of the family—had been the one to decide all the decorations for the event. Harry didn't mind, even if it ended up being a bigger thing than he would have wanted for himself, and Ginny had been busy with her last year of Hogwarts. Molly had wanted to do it, so Harry and Ginny had let her.

Things had been good, at least from Harry's point of view. Harry and Teddy lived with Andromeda while Ginny traveled with the Harpies as a reservist. Even during the off-season, Ginny was usually fairly busy with training.

That was fine.

Harry was busy, too. A Muggle-born had opened up something like a dojo crossed with a community center in the village where Andromeda lived. It was specifically aimed at giving magical children a safe place to participate in activities, especially children who would have difficulties hiding just how magical they were. Harry had immediately signed up for all of the 'baby bonding' classes. Teddy really liked the 'mommy yoga' (Harry didn't think they ever got much _yoga_ done but using Teddy as a weight was always interesting) and even as young as he was, he took to tumbling like a duck to water. He also helped out with office work and teaching the occasional class on wand forms.

He had a standing lunch date with Luna every Wednesday. They would meet up at the community center and then the three of them would go to whatever restaurant struck their fancy that week. It was more fun that Harry had ever imagined having, especially after they had discovered a fantasy-themed restaurant. Both Teddy and Luna fell in love with the place's unicorn sundaes. Harry just didn't think anything neon colored was actually edible.

He did miss Ginny, though. It seemed like she was always gone, even when she was home. Molly was clearly torn between being proud of her daughter's achievements and disappointed whenever Ginny missed another Sunday brunch. As one year became three, Molly also started vocally fretting about when Harry and Ginny were going to give her more grandchildren. Bill and Fleur had little Victorie, and Percy had gotten Molly not only Sigune but Molly the Second. Even George and Angelina had announced that they were expecting.

Harry didn't have the nerve to mention that the few times he and Ginny had managed to find alone time in the last year, their chosen activities hadn't been anything which typically led to pregnancy. It had been satisfying, yes, but even as questionable as that health class back in primary had been, Harry did know which sexual acts had the potential to knock a person up. Fanny feasting wasn't one of them.

When he had come down with a flu that he just couldn't shake, he hadn't thought anything of it. He hadn't worried until even a third dose of Pepper-Up hadn't knocked it out of his system. He had made an appointment with the health clinic in the village. After some serious frowning, the doctor had done some labs to test for various things.

"I don't understand," Harry said at the followup appointment. He was doing some serious frowning of his own now. "Isn't syphilis a sex disease? I've only ever had sex with my wife."

"At the risk of being indelicate," the doctor asked very patiently, "are you certain that your wife has been completely faithful?"

"What—" Harry started to ask before cutting himself off. He narrowed his eyes at the doctor (whose expression hadn't changed from carefully neutral). "You really could have been a bit more delicate, Doc. That was like being stabbed."

"There's only a limited number of ways to contract this illness, Mr. Potter," the doctor continued. "Since you have denied being a caregiver for anyone other than your son and your only sexual contact is your wife, the natural conclusion is that your wife is the source of infection."

Harry left the appointment in a daze. He had to take a course of antibiotics and then be retested to verify that the infection had been cleared from his system. That wasn't even the most shocking part of the entire situation. Ginny had cheated on him.

He knew that they were often separated, sometimes for weeks on end, but he had truly believed that things had been good between. Ginny hadn't mentioned anything. Hermione hadn't made any kind of hint that her best friend slash sister-in-law was upset. Yet the evidence was irrefutable that something had happened.

What if it was something horrible, instead of Ginny cheating? He had every confidence that Ginny could have taken anyone who attacked her directly, but she always had stories about going out to various pubs and clubs with the team. What if someone slipped something into her drink when she wasn't looking?

"Just a few more steps, Harry," Luna said as she helped him across the living room. He hadn't even realized that he had arrived home, let alone that his friend had been waiting for him. The side hug was already helping him come back to himself, however. "It's a knock to the system, but you're handling it really well."

"How did you already find out?" he asked. His head still felt full of cotton. Luna glanced over at a copy of _The Evening Prophet_ laying on the coffee table in front of the couch. Harry had to blink twice before he could comprehend the picture taking up most of the front page. It had Ginny locked in a very passionate (and blatantly willing) embrace with a wizard. "Well, there goes that theory."

"You don't sound like you've seen that picture before," Luna observed. Harry shook his head, suddenly exhausted. "But you're not surprised. How did you find out?"

"I tested positive for syphilis." He leaned back on the couch to stare at the ceiling. "The doctor didn't mince words about how I could have been infected. I was just thinking that she was hiding being—you know."

"Oh, that would be terrible," Luna commented. "Not cheating is much better, mind you, but I can't imagine being hurt like that and not telling my partner."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. The lapse into silence for a few minutes. Finally, he just had to say it. "I guess you were right." He tilted his head to look at his friend's confused expression. "Ginny really didn't make a very good wife, and it was at least partially because of how much she loved falling in love."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Luna whispered. "I didn't want to be right."

"I know," Harry whispered back, "and I'm sorry, too, for not listening to you. I should always listen to you."

"Because I'm a Ravenclaw?"

"Exactly. Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Both of them gave weak giggles at the vulgar joke.

There were worse ways to spend the immediate aftermath of uncovering the juicy secret that Ginny was cheating.


	80. Hidden Treasures

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So this is the Marauders as Thieves AU that no one asked for but needed anyway.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x5); Magical MC (x5); Criminal MC (x5); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x3) (Y); Ethnic & Present; Ship Sails; Lovely Triangle; Hold the Mayo; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 8  
**Subject (Task No.):** Technomancy (Task#1: Write about searching for a hidden treasure.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [08](Fight); 365 [219](Noise); Herbology [Individual Plot] ("I'm only here to establish an alibi."); Pinata [Easy] (Animagi); Cat Collecting [07] (Something Rare); Foolish Fish Tanks [F09] (An argument/debate/duel); Days of the Year [April 30th] (Someone being brutally honest); Spring Theme [15] (Basket); Colors [05] (Lime Green); Well Behaved Women [Lily Evans](Thieves/Assassins AU) [Mixed Gender Friendship]; Earth Prompt [07] (Dust); Hufflepuff Theme [T07](Modest); History of Spring [06] (Encountering a Basilisk)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [4C](Sheep/Lamb); Tr Bingo [2A](Even Evil Has Standards); Hunt [Sp Settings](Cottage); Ship [Sp Big](Glass Figurine); Chim [Doug] (Family/Friendship)**  
Representation(s):** ADHD James Potter; Marauders as Family; Desi Potters; Black Lily Evans  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Ameliorate)  
**Word Count:** 1317

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**Hidden Treasures**  
(^^)

"This place has been abandoned! Why are we here again?"

"Don't look at me," Lily answered as she took a sip of her smoothie. Despite the order, both Sirius and Remus turned away from watching James unraveling the protective wards on the building they were gathering behind. She rolled her green eyes dramatically. "I'm only here to establish an alibi."

"You really don't understand the concept of an alibi," Remus said. "It's supposed to place you somewhere _other_ than a crime scene!"

"Crime scene?" Sirius questioned. He gave Remus a grin that would have been at home on his canine form. "I don't know about you, but we've been at the Natural History Museum all afternoon. It's fascinating stuff."

"Got the ticket stubs to prove it, too," Lily added. With her free hand, she showed the torn tickets to Remus. She gave them all a wolfish smile. "Marlene is apprenticing under the wix in charge of the magical section."

"That is establishing an alibi!" Remus argued. "Not being at the scene of the crime!"

"That still doesn't answer the question," Peter complained. "Why are we breaking into someone's glorified garden shed?"

"It has an expansion charm," James explained as he worked. "You can tell from the stress marks on the wood at the corners." He pointed at the frame of the cottage door with a wave of one brown hand. "They should have used birch or yew. Oak doesn't take that class of spell well. It also doesn't let wards sink in as well." With his other hand, he made a gesture like he was grabbing a handful of threads and yanked. A small shower of sparks followed the motion. "Tch, their loss and our gain. We have only ten minutes before the Aurors respond to the ward breech. In and out, people."

"And don't forget," Lily mentioned as she vanished her smoothie instead of just dropping it and leaving behind evidence, "Alice and Frank have said they won't hesitate to arrest us."

"They'll have to catch us first," Sirius said, slipping through the door behind James. Peter squeaked as he shifted to his rat form and scurried after them. Remus rolled his eyes at their antics but let Lily go first.

Inside was nothing like an ordinary garden shed. It looked more like the parlor of some fancy manor. Well, if said manor belonged to someone with absolutely no sense of interior design. Everything was ornately expensive but it was also overdone in a way that screamed its owner's desire to show off their wealth. Also, none of it actually went together. There was also a fine layer of dust on all the horizontal surfaces.

"My mother would die if she saw this," James said before shaking himself of his shock.

"Aunt Dorea isn't the only one," Sirius agreed as he helped James go through the contents of the bookshelves along one of the walls. "I think my mother would die if she saw this crime of excess."

"Aunt Walburga dying wouldn't be a huge loss," James returned. He shoved a likely looking book into his moleskin satchel. "It might even be a good thing all around. Though I suppose Uncle Orion might have difficulties finding another cousin to marry, given that all cousins are settled."

"Gideon mentioned at the last Order meeting that Septimus is sick," Remus said as he took what Wormtail had brought him and shoved it into his own moleskin bag. "So maybe Cedrella will be available soon."

"Ugh, don't put that out in the universe," Sirius whined. "That would make what I'm doing with the Prewett twins too incesteous to continue."

"Dating twins is already kind of incesteous," Lily pointed out as she searched her own section of the room. A stretch of the wood paneling felt strange under her fingers. "Besides, your parents are literally cousins."

"Exactly," Sirius said. "They're the best example of why it's not the best idea to be kissing cousins."

"I thought you and Regulus were the examples," James teased. Sirius tossed a glass figurine at him. Like a good Chaser, James caught the figurine and shoved it into his bag. Lily ignored their fight and pressed her palm to the spot. It grew warm before popping open. "Oh, I wasn't expecting secret spaces!"

"We're in a secret space," Remus corrected as he took another object from Wormtail. "What's a few more? We're down to five minutes, by the way."

Lily swung open the panel, thinking only what possible treasures could have been hidden under all the wards of this place and then the secret panel. Then she froze at the sight that greeted her. Curled up in a wicker basket lined with a piece of lambskin stamped with runes was a lime green snake with a wedge-shaped head. Her heart stopped as she recognized the distinctive color and scale pattern of a hatchling basilisk.

"Get out," she ordered the boys. Her voice croaked instead of snapping. James and Sirius arguing easily covered it. She swallowed hard and tried again. "Get out _now_."

"What's wrong?" Remus asked. She heard him take a few steps closer.

"NO! Don't come any closer," Lily snapped. This time she was loud enough to silence James and Sirius. Unfortunately, the noise of it was also loud enough to wake the previously slumbering basilisk. "Oh, no, pretty, don't wake up."

The basilisk blinked sleepily at her but obligingly settled back down. Its tail gave a minute twitch to show that it wasn't really sleeping. Remus peeked over her shoulder. Then he stumbled backwards. She heard him calling to Wormtail. She also heard James and Sirius protesting as he urged them out the door.

She had never been so thankful for her unusual animagus form before. Magical creatures were rare as forms anyway, but dragons were hardly inconspicuous. It had made her form useless for undercover work for the Order as well as doing the preliminary investigations for their hits. But it did come with a few perks that came in handy from time to time. Immunity to the magical effects of other creatures was just one of those perks.

Lily had been born with the other talent that made her perfect for this encounter.

"Hello, lovely," she murmured in Parseltongue. The basilisk opened its eyes again to glare at her. "I know, I know. I woke you up, didn't I? I'm sorry for that. We didn't know you were here. Do you know if you have a name, pretty one?"

"The human before you called me _Treasure_," the snake answered. "You smell of fire and sky."

"I can turn into a dragon," Lily explained. She was not surprised that the man who owned the garden shed turned secret hideout had kept a basilisk. The Death Eaters attracted a certain kind of crazy which made suicidally stupid ideas like that seem reasonable. She was a bit surprised that he had such respect for a creature to name it the way he had. "How long has it been since you've eaten, Treasure? Are you hungry?"

"Starved," Treasure answered. "The not-you human has been gone for so long."

Lily looked around the room, once again noting the dust. James had picked this place because of the owner being in St. Mungo's as they tried to figure out why he was unconscious. She almost laughed when she realized that he was probably petrified from the basilisk's budding death gaze. To cover it up, she used her wand to hopefully summon any food he had kept for Treasure. A wooden box zipped towards her from the desk in the corner.

"One now," she told her new friend, "and then we need to get out of here."

"This is acceptable," Treasure answered. "I have always wanted to have a dragon."

Somehow, becoming the pet of a basilisk was not what she had expected to come from this job.


	81. Anything for You

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. References canon events such as child abuse & Hogwarts. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Have a fluffy anniversary slice of life piece.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Shadow HP Bribery; Gryffindor MC (x2); Ravenclaw MC; Magical MC (x3); Neuordivergent (x2); Rian-Russo Inversion; Lovely Triangle (Y); Ship Sails; Lunar Era (Y); Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Eating Cake; Green Ribbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 9  
**Subject (Task No.):** Ballroom Dancing (Task#1: Write about a couple's/lovers' anniversary.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:**Insane Prompt Challenge [955](Anything for You); Words [11](Angle); Herbology [Individual Plots](Carousel); Cat Collecting [14](Someone relaxing); Foolish Fish Tanks [F02](Silver Trio); Days of the Year [April 18th](Someone doting on their husband); Spring Challenge [29](Quotation); Color Prompts [04](Lavender); Earth Element [04](Enrich); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [14](Humble)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [3C](Rabbit/Bunny); Tr Bingo [1D](Obfuscating Stupidity); Hunt [Sp Objects](Stuffed Animal); Ship [Sp Medium 1](Acts of Service); Chim [Doug] (Family/Friendship; "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)**  
Representation(s):** Harry Potter/Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood; Autistic Harry & Luna  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Found Family; Nontraditional; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail; Spare)  
**Word Count:** 653

(^^)  
**Anything for You**  
(^^)

Luna nudged Harry towards a purple horse with a lavender mane before taking a zebra for herself. Knowing better than to climb onto anything that would be moving, Neville sat in an oversized teacup just in front of his partners' animals. When the carousel started moving, he immediately regreted his choice as it began to spin just like the carousel did.

Neville didn't regret agreeing with Luna that they should spend their first anniversary at Piccadilly, though. How could he when Harry had revealed that he had never been? Since both himself and Luna had been to the Muggle attraction, despite their magical upbringing, the idea that Harry hadn't been, not even once, despite growing up in the Muggle world, was just another disquieting hint at the silence Harry maintained about his family.

Through his increasing dizziness, Neville heard Luna urging Harry to relax. He could imagine Harry holding tightly to the pole of his horse. It wasn't that Harry was easily frightened by things. For all that his bondmate could have been placed in any House, there was a reason that he had ended up in Gryffindor, after all. But sometimes, Harry had difficulties with actually showing how much he enjoyed things, like he was scared that if he showed too much, then it would be snatched away from him.

Neville knew that wasn't just because of his family. Their years at Hogwarts had left marks on all of them. All of them had nightmares. All of them had physical scars from that time. They had all lost people. The war hadn't been the only hardship of those years.

But they had each other to enrich their futures.

The ride mercifully came to a stop before Neville lost his lunch.

"What should we do next?" Harry asked as they exited the carousel.

Luna grabbed a hand of each of them and pulled them towards a game booth. There were water guns set into a low bench in front of multiple targets. Behind the hawker for the game, a variety of stuffed animals in every color combination imaginable. Neville spotted a lavender rabbit with splotches of royal purple tucked into one corner and knew exactly what Luna had in mind. He pushed up his sleeves as Luna paid for them to play.

"I'm not certain this is a good idea," Harry said as he took his place behind one of the guns. He glanced at the rabbit, but didn't mention it at all. Neville exchanged a knowing look with Luna but neither pointed out that they knew how much Harry probably wanted the stuffed rabbit that just happened to be in his favorite color. "There's a ducky game down the way."

"We'll play that next," Luna declared as she eyed her target. She moved her gun in different ways as if calculating angles. "But right now, we've already paid, so let's do this."

At the hawker's cue, they all began shooting at their targets. Neville gave it the same amount of focus as he had ever given firing spells at the training dummies during D.A. meetings. In the end, he just barely missed filling up his target. He turned to buy another game only to find that Luna was pointing out the rabbit as her chosen prize.

"Happy anniversary, love," she said as she pressed the stuffed animal into Harry's arms. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Now you wanted to play the ducky game?"

"Actually," Harry said shyly, "would you mind if we rode the carousel again?"

"Of course we don't mind," Neville told him before pressing his own kiss to Harry's cheek. "It's our anniversary. We can do whatever you want." He grimaced. "But I'm not taking the teacup this time."

Luna laughed as she led the way back to the carousel. It had been a good year. Neville was looking forward to what the next one held.


	82. Lightning Shrike

**Legal Disclaimer: **I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. References to canon child abuse, including casting spells on a child as a misdirected punishment. There's also referenced xenophobic & racist ideology. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note: **I know that Hagrid is a fandom favorite, but honestly, as an abuse survivor, his temper (and particularly how it displayed in PS) has always terrified me. I'm sorry if you dislike how he is portrayed here but I really can't control what canon gives me to work with. Also, Marge Dursley fails as a human being on so many levels and she doesn't even appear in this fic.

**Submitting Info:  
****Stacked with: **Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges: **Magical MC; Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Feathers & ; In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon  
**House: **Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 9  
**Subject (Task No.): **n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [809](No Dialogue); 365 [238](Particular); Geek Pride [Transformers] (Change in Appearance); Well Behaved Women [Fem Harry Potter] [Shifter AU] (Intelligence)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [5B](Sunshine); Tr Bingo [2E](The Hero's Journey); Chim [Doug]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)  
**Representation(s): **Desi fem Harry Potter; Genius Harry Potter  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Unwanted Advice; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Nontraditional); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: **T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Intercept)  
**Word Count: **730

(^^)  
**Lightning Shrike  
**(^^)

Harini watched as Hagrid disappeared into the crowd. Watching him leave her for the second time that day, she couldn't help but think how odd it was that Hogwarts had sent him to introduce her to the magical world. He was not a professor for the school nor did it seem that he was particularly sensible about things. His temper was even worse than Uncle Vernon's and that was saying something as her uncle was extremely temperamental.

She hoped the spell Hagrid had cast on Dudley faded without any lasting harm, for both Dudley and Hagrid's sakes. It was highly unlikely that there weren't laws about casting spells on Muggles, no matter how annoying their fathers were. That was before even considering how Hagrid apparently wasn't supposed to be casting spells in the first place.

She sighed as she realized that she was officially left to find her own way home.

At least she had been able to talk Hagrid out of getting her a pet of any sort. Not only did that mean she wasn't drawing any kind of attention from the bustling crowd filling King's Cross, but it also meant that she wouldn't have to worry about how her relatives would react to her bringing home an animal.

The Dursleys weren't particularly happy that Harini needed to eat. She couldn't imagine how they would feel about having another unwanted mouth to feed. She wouldn't put it past her aunt to make Harini split her rations with a pet.

The other thing she was thankful for was how she had convinced Hagrid to get her an upgrade to her trunk instead of the proposed owl. The shrunken trunk was now tucked into the pocket of her ill-fitting dress along with her wand and coin bag. She knew from experience that anything in the pockets of her clothing would go wherever her clothing and glasses did when she shifted.

Giving into temptation, she shifted to her animal form right there in the middle of the busy train station. Used to such things, no one blinked an eye at the sudden appearance of a small bird that flew upwards immediately.

Harini circled the glass ceiling twice just to relish in the feeling of flight. Between her chores and how often she was locked in her cupboard, she didn't often get a chance to enjoy the perks of her shift. Aunt Petunia made sure to take Dudley to the local dog park at least once a week to show off their very proper English Bulldog shifts to the other denizens of Little Whinging. Yet if any of the neighbors asked about Harini's form, Aunt Petunia would always lie and make it sound like Harini hadn't managed to shift at all yet. All because shrikes were more common among the Irish and Welsh, and therefore having that form when they lived in Surrey was shameful.

Well, even more shameful than just having Harini in the family at all. She got the feeling that her darker skin due to her mixed heritage was also something shameful, even if none of her relatives would ever say it plainly. Sometimes, when she was deep enough in her cups, Aunt Marge would say a few things about drowning mongrel pups, but Aunt Petunia would frown at her with just as much disapproval as she always showed Harini before suggesting that she should retire for the evening.

Finally, Harini dived down and ducked out one of the many doors in order to leave the station. Carefully, she backtracked their path to the Leaky Cauldron. Now that she didn't have to worry about upsetting an escort, she wanted to explore the bit of the new world she had just joined-rejoined, actually, if what Hagrid had said was true. She was certain that she could probably find a book or something which explained more about the whole Voldemort situation and how her parents had died.

Maybe she would even find something that explained about laws or any cultural norms. Did wizards even have anything similar to sociology or anthropology?

If she got really lucky, she would be able to exchange some of her gold coins for muggle money and could maybe get some food to hide away in her new trunk.

Amid the late afternoon sunshine, Harini felt something begin to warm within her.

It felt a lot like hope.


	83. Violations over Tea

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There's also nonconsensual potion use as well as violations of personal mental autonomy. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Once again, I'm kind of left with what canon has given me, regardless of how much Dumbledore is a fandom favorite. Regardless of how I feel about McGonagall and Hagrid, neither deserve what happens here.

**Submitting Info:  
****Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x3); Magical MC (x3) (x1 Y); Rian-Russo Inversion; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes; Green Ribbon; In a Flash  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 9  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [358](Albus Dumbledore); 365 [99](Extreme); Geek Pride [Merlin](Having to Hide Something)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [3B](Tea); Tr Bingo [5B](Knight Templar); Hunt [Sp Consumables](Tea); Chim [Doug](Baked Goods)  
**Representation(s):** Minerva McGonagall; Albus Dumbledore  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Middle Name; Unwanted Advice; Delicious Lie; Tomorrow's Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Bee Haven; Fizzy Lemonade)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail; Negate)  
**Word Count:** 679

(^^)  
**Violations over Tea  
**(^^)

Albus knew that he could not allow anyone to know where he had stashed the Potter boy. It was imperative that the boy be raised in the environment that the Dursleys would provide so readily. Without the crucial training young Harry would receive from those Muggles, there would be no guarantee that the boy would be willing to do what would need to be done. It was a sad reality that the boy would need to die eventually in order to fulfill the prophecy, but Albus could not allow that to soften him.

The unfortunate side effect of the need to keep the boy hidden away was what he would now be forced to do to his most loyal servants. Minerva and Hagrid both knew the exact location of the Dursley household, and that they were currently in possession of the boy. As the old proverb goes, three can keep a secret, but only if two of them were dead. Since killing the pair would be wasteful, the only other option was simple.

He just needed to remove the secret from them.

Both Minerva and Hagrid provided unique challenges in this endeavor.

Hagrid's giant heritage made magic tricky if nigh impossible to cast upon him. Albus would need to lower Hagrid's defenses in some way before he would be able to even begin the process of extracting the memories in their entirety. Hagrid's habit of drinking to the point of drunkenness was a boon. Combined with the groundskeeper's complete trust in Albus, it was far simpler than it would have been. Albus didn't even need to make sure Hagrid was unconscious. If the man lost a few skills due to their connection to the memories in question, no one was likely to notice, not even Hagrid himself.

Minerva on the other hand was far trickier. While her Animagus training had given her formidable mental shields, it was actually her intelligence which made the procedure harder to do. Her mind formed more links between her memories. Extracting a single set of memories without accidentally removing additional things that she would immediately notice missing would be tedious in the extreme.

Once Albus had finished with Hagrid, he summoned Minerva to his office. He had a tea service waiting when she arrived. The tea was her favored Earl Grey. She just adored the traces of bergamot that it had. To complement it, he had chosen a variety of lemon pastries. Just as Albus loved sherbert lemons, he loved anything else with the flavor as well. Something about the sweet and sour flavor delighted him.

"Would you like one lump or two?" he asked the witch as he poured for both of them. It truly was a pity that he could not drink his own cup. By the color and smell, the elves had outdone themselves brewing the pot. If he had not already added the sleeping draught to this pot, he would have enjoyed relaxing with a nice cup himself. Alas, the sacrifices one must make to defeat evil.

"One lump will suffice," she answered. Her sharp eyes were even sharper as she watched him prepare her tea. "I must insist that we discuss the Potter boy, Albus."

"Once we're settled with our tea, my dear," Albus insisted, "we can discuss this matter. We must not rush through the trappings of civilization, after all. We're not barbarians!"

With a frown worthy of her feline counterpart, Minerva took a measured sip of her tea. Immediately, her eyes began to droop, and she slumped to the side. It was only Albus' quick wandwork which kept her teacup from hitting the ground and the tea ruining his flying rug. Albus let out a regretfully sigh before setting to the delicate work of removing the secret that necessitated all of this subterfuge.

"I am sorry," Albus told the sleeping woman. "Hiding him for now is for the Greater Good. I regret that it has come to this, my dear, but I cannot leave anything to chance. I'm sure you understand."

There was, of course, no reply.


	84. The Toy (Rated M)

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Also, this is entirely kinky smut involving my OT3. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Instead of sleeping, I wrote this (mostly because nothing kills the mood for writing these types of things faster than one's _children_ wanting to hang out). If anyone is wondering, Harry is an orphan in this just like he is in canon, not that his being an orphan matters to the plot any. [laughs] _Plot_.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x3); Lovely Triangle (Y); Ethnic & Present (x2) (Y); Hold the Mayo (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (x3) (Y); Zed Era (Y); Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 9  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [275](Blaise Zabini); 365 [36](Branch); Geek Pride [Batman](an orphan)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [1B](Purple); Tr Bingo [5D](Freud Was Right); Hunt [Sp Settings](Forest/Woods); Ship [Sp Medium 1](Admiring the View); Chim [Doug]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)**  
Representation(s):** Blaise Zabini/Harry Potter/Luna Lovegood; Desi Potters; Healer Harry; Autistic Harry & Luna  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Nightingale; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Tomorrow's Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots); Demo (Three's Company; Easy Zephyr)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (Tansy); CM (Briar; Navigate; Yogin)  
**Word Count:** 1204

(^^)  
**The Toy**  
(^^)

Blaise used both his hands to spread Harry's cheeks, admiring the contrast of his own dark skin against Harry's only slightly paler skin. The purple plug in Harry's hole did nothing to obscure how that hole fluttered around it at the exposure. Harry moaned as Blaise just took in the view but didn't stop devouring Luna like he was starving.

The blonde had her legs draped over Harry's shoulders as she writhed in place. Her hands clenched the purple rope tied to both her wrists and the stake sunk into the ground just beyond the edge of their blanket. As Blaise watched, she tugged against the rope hard enough to strain the anchoring charm on the stake, which was sure to leave a bruise.

There wasn't a doubt in Blaise's head that if her hands had been free, she would have her fingers buried in Harry's inky locks just like his face was in her quim. There was also no doubt that when they were done, Harry would insist on applying some of his ever-present bruise paste to her wrists. Harry took his Healer's oath very seriously.

On a whim, Blaise used his thumbs to turn the plug. Harry shuddered and moaned again. His rim clenched tight around the toy, not that it stopped Blaise from twisting it. That would only make the sensations more intense. He moved one hand to get a better grip on the plug. Like it was the key for a wind-up toy, Blaise continued twisting the plug. Every quarter turn, he pulled it out slightly to thrust it back in.

"Oh, gods," Luna moaned as she arched her back to press against Harry's face harder against her, "keep doing whatever it is you're doing. He loves it."

"Yeah?" Blaise asked, looking up from the delicious view of Harry's ass desperately fluttering around the plug that he continued to twist and thrust into it. Sunlight dappled Luna's pale skin like bruises that rippled as the wind moved the branches above them. Her slight breasts swayed as Harry ate her even as he rocked back against the plug. "Do you think he loves it enough to come from just it and eating you?"

"Definitely," she gasped as her legs trembled on either side of Harry's head. In fact, her entire body was trembling in the tell-tale way it did when she was orgasming. That would make her third since they had started. And who could blame her? Harry was very talented with his mouth, in multiple ways. "Oh, but ask him, will you? Just to be sure?"

"Need a moment to recover?" Blaise teased even as he slid his hand from Harry's ass cheek up his back. He made certain to thrust the plug extra hard as he gripped a handful of Harry's wild hair. Then he pulled both towards him, making Harry whine as he had to follow and leave his feast.

Harry's cheeks and chin glinted as the sunlight filtering through the leaves above them hit the slick covering them. As Blaise watched, Harry licked his lips to recapture the flavor of Luna there. Harry whined again and squirmed against Blaise's hold, not to escape but to feel the security of it. Blaise continued rocking the plug into him as he asked his questions.

"How are you doing, love?" Blaise whispered. He punctuated the question with a flick of his tongue against Harry's earlobe. "Can you give us a color?"

"Green," Harry answered as he tried to match the minute thrusts Blaise was making with the plug. Feeling a bit evil, Blaise pulled the plug until it was almost completely out, only the tip remaining in Harry's rim. "So, so _green._ Please!"

Blaise chuckled as he thrust the plug back in fully. He spared a thought to thank Luna later for swapping out the tapered plug he had chose for one of their straighter choices. It made this game so much easier, despite how the greater length had to have made the walk to this hidden spot in the woods surrounding their home more difficult for Harry. Then again, that was fun for all of them.

"Please _what_, love?"

"Please, _sir_," Harry gasped. He rolled his hips as he pressed back against the plug. Blaise slipped his little and ring fingers into Harry's hole alongside the plug. Harry groaned loudly and thrust backwards desperately. "Oh, please, _sir_, please! Sir!"

"You need to be more specific, love," Luna suggested with a chuckle in her voice.

She slipped one of her legs off Harry's shoulder in order to wrap it around his waist. Harry immediately shifted the hand on the arm now trapped to his side so that he could press his eager fingers into Luna's empty pussy. The squelching sound the motion made had Blaise groaning into Harry's ear.

"Please fuck me, sir," Harry begged. He rolled his hips again. Blaise made three sharp thrusts before giving the plug a quarter twist in each direction. "Please, sir! Please fuck me!"

"Oh, gods, I love that idea," Luna commented as she moved against Harry's hand, "but can I have your cock, love?" Her back arched as she let out a sudden gasp. Then she started her own begging. "Please, love, gods. Can I, oh, have your cock in me, please?"

"What do you say, love?" Blaise asked, stilling his motions entirely. "Do you want to fuck our wife while I fuck you?" He wiggled his fingers before tilting the plug just enough to make Harry give a low groan. "Maybe that's not even how it will be. Maybe it will be more like I'm fucking her but with your body, filling you both up until you can only think of the pleasure you're feeling. Gimme a color, love."

"Green, green, green," Harry chanted. "Green, sir. _Please_! Please, _sir_."

Luna lowered her other leg and used her new angle to urge Harry closer. Blaise could tell when Harry entered her, as both Harry and Luna gave satisfied moans that made his own cock twitch demandingly. He released Harry's hair and the other man practically dived forward to kiss Luna.

Carefully, Blaise extracted the plug from Harry. The purple toy stood out against the blanket even as lube slipped off to began darkening the pale lavender to something closer to lilac. Harry's hole fluttered against the sudden emptiness as Harry whimpered desperately into Luna's mouth.

In no rush, Blaise held Harry's cheeks spread again, just to admire the view winking at him. He slid both his thumbs into the gape. Then he tugged gently. Harry threw his head back to gasp.

"Please, sir," Harry begged again. His hips were twitching in small aborted thrusts, but otherwise, he was being so patient, despite having been kept on edge for most of the afternoon now. "Please, sir, can I have your cock? Please fuck _us_?"

"Such a good boy," Blaise praised as he rubbed his thumbs around Harry's stretched rim just to hear another one of those desperate whimpers. "So needy, so desperate, but still so polite-and considerate, too, remembering that I'm going to fuck our wife with your body."

And because they both shuddered so deliciously at that, Blaise proceeded to do just that.


	85. Bow to Death

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There is canon typical violence and one character death on screen. There's also references to the death of another one (but he gets better). Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I've got no explanation for you. Have some super sassy Harry and more than hints at Cedric/Harry (and maybe even pre-Cedric/Harry/Death).

**Submitting Info:****  
****Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x3) (Y); Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Eating Cake; Green Ribbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 12 – Assignment 9  
**Subject (Task No.): **n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges: **Insane Prompt Challenge [16](Timid); 365 [321](Undeniable); Geek Pride [Yu-Gi-Oh](A Duel)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [2A](Green); Tr Bingo [4E](Back from the Dead); Ship [Sp Medium 1](Acts of Service); Chim [Doug]('Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)  
**Representation(s): **Master of Death Harry Potter/Cedric Diggory; Harry/Death QPR; Pre-Poly Ship; BC Use  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** SN (Rail); LiCK (Poppy; Amaranth; Narcissus; Yarrow)  
**Word Count: **1371

(^^)  
**Bow to Death****  
**(^^)

Harry ducked behind a tombstone. He rolled with the force of his landing. When a hex made the already dubious cover of the tombstone explode. A piece of the sharp stone cut his check as it flew past. His heart was pounding as he rolled again, somehow managing to keep both his wand and his glasses. He ended up on his back with the cloud covered sky stretching over him. The incoming storm had already tinged the darkening gray a sickening green.

Across the graveyard, Voldemort laughed. It was just as chilling as the one that played through Harry's memories whenever a dementor got close. Harry shivered as a ghost of association froze his blood. He could almost see his breath condensing in the air. The scent of mums and rotting leaves hung thick and heavy in the air like a reaper's shroud.

"Come out, little Potter," Voldemort called out. His voice cut through the silence like a scythe. "There is no dishonor in recognizing a superior opponent. All must bow before Death eventually—well, all except for myself, of course."

It wasn't the first time Harry had faced death. Sometimes, when he thought back on his life both before and the four years at Hogwarts, he couldn't help the surprise that filled at the realization that he was even alive. Why were the places that everyone told him were supposed to be safest were where he always had to fight for his life?

Then again, hadn't he always had to fight just to continue existing?

He forced himself to his feet and to face his enemy. Voldemort's eyes glowed red, visible even with the distance between them. Harry raised his chin and his wand as he met that gaze.

"Bow to Death, Potter," Voldemort commanded.

"You're not her, Tim," Harry said before he could think better of it. Voldemort's face twisted in rage.

"It's not _Tim_, you insolent brat! It's _Tom._" Voldemort seemed to realize what he had just snapped in his rage and rushed to correct himself. "Also, it's not _Tom _at all! It's Lord Voldemort!"

"You know what I never understood," Harry said conversationally as he gestured with his wand. "Why don't you pronounce the T at the end? We both know it's nothing but an acronym. As an acronym, the whole thing should be pronounced exactly as it is. Are you really so pretentious that you're pretending to be French? I'm offended on the behalf of francophones."

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort roared.

Harry didn't even think as he channeled his magic through his wand in silent desperation. The bright green of the Killing Curse collided with the violet of whatever spell that Harry was using. The magic latched onto each other, forming a connective rope between the tips of their wands. A ball of bright light formed where the rope connected. Harry gritted his teeth as the whole thing started to vibrate.

Acting on some instinct that he would never be able to explain, Harry braced his feet and began to push his all into the rope. The ball swirled with shades of lavender before beginning to move closer to Voldemort in fits and starts. Grinning now, Harry let more of himself loose along the line.

"You cannot defeat me," Voldemort shouted. His bone white face seemed to be tinged gray with his growing fear. The ball was now three-quarters of the way to the tip of Voldemort's wand.

"Whatever you say, Tim!" Harry called back. He let out a laugh at the undeniable expression of frustration on Voldemort's face at the repetition of the misnaming. Harry's magic just pulsed even stronger through the cord connecting their wands, showing no sign of reaching its limit.

"I AM LORD VOLDEMORT!"

"Acronym," Harry mocked in a sing-song. There was hardly any sign of green along the line now, only the purple of Harry's magic. Voldemort tried jerking his wand away as the ball closed the last little bit. Instead of releasing, the cord of magic moved with the motion and like half of a rope turner, Harry moved, too. "That wasn't nice, Tim!"

"It's Lord Voldemort, you insolent whelp!"

"What-_ev_-er," Harry replied as Voldemort proceeded to actually shake his wand. Harry rode out the motion like he was riding a bucking hippogriff that would maul him if he fell off. "You know, a guy might think you didn't want to be connected to him!"

"Who would want to be connected to you?" Voldemort snarled. Harry laughed again.

"But we have such a profound bond, Timmy dear!"

"You will die!"

"Maybe," Harry agreed, "but I'm not afraid of Death."

The ball edged the final distance to the tip of Voldemort's wand. The yew wood began to give off a gray-green smoke that Harry could smell even from as far away as he was. It was the distinctive scent of burning blood. Only instead of disappearing into the sky like actual smoke would, the smoke swirled around the rope towards the center. It began to condense there like a strange spirit.

A very familiar looking spirit.

"This is the strangest trip I've ever had," Cedric said as he examined his ghost-like form. "What the hell did Fleur put in those brownies?"

"You know that she'll never tell you," Harry replied, drawing the slowly-solidifying Hufflepuff's attention to him. Cedric gave him the lopsided grin he favored when he was trying not to laugh. "It's really good to see you, man."

"It's really good to be seen," Cedric admitted just as Voldemort tried shaking his wand again. Without seeming to think about it, Cedric grabbed the rope with both hands. Bits of Hufflepuff yellow shone on both sides of where he was holding and between his fingers. A single line of pure black circled opposite of the still swirl smoke back towards Voldemort's end of the line. The sharp scent of burning blood intensified once the black reached the wand tip.

Harry jumped when hands landed on his shoulders. The smell of mums and rotting leaves overwhelmed the burning scent. He felt someone press against his back as the hands slipped down his arms to hold his wrists. Despite everything happening, Harry relaxed against the petite woman holding him.

"You are so much trouble, little master," Death whispered in his ear before bussing a kiss over his jaw. "You're not nearly as charming as you think you are."

"Excuse you," Harry protested even as he kept an eye on things. "I'm freaking adorable, I'll have you know!"

"Such an ego hidden under all that hair," Death teased. "What happened to my timid little master who would barely talk back to people?"

"Oh, this and that," Harry hedged, knowing that Death would not take kindly to how certain things had gone down in last year. "Made some new friends."

"And lost some old ones," she countered, unsubtlely letting him know that she knew what he had been trying to hide. She rubbed her cold cheek against his in apology. "Your little friend should be just about done now, and can I just say that I see what you like about his form? You have good taste, little master."

Sure enough, Cedric looked completely solid now. He was only a little bit paler beneath his tan than normal. The rope had turned entirely to Hufflepuff colors. Noticing that Harry's attention was on him, Cedric gave him a suggestive wink.

"Time to end things," Death whispered as she began to fade away. "Just snap and twist before casting. You have the control here, not the abomination."

Harry waited until she was completely gone before addressing Voldemort.

"Bow to Death, Tim," Harry announced. He snapped his wand downward with a twist, dissolving the cord of magic. Before Voldemort could react, Harry had his wand back up and was casting. The Killing Curse was just as brilliantly green despite Harry not using the incantation. The Dark Lord was dead before his body hit the ground.

Cedric met Harry's eyes as the few Death Eaters that hadn't already fled began to drop to their knees facing Harry. Slowly and with that lopsided grin that Harry loved, Cedric bowed his head. Deep inside of head, Harry could hear Death laughing in delight.


	86. Frustrations of Living

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** My hands slipped and here's another Lily Lives AU but this time she's just as Desi as her late husband was. Like always when I make a Lily Lives AU, Sirius & Remus are active co-parents with Lily, which is why Harry refers to them as their parents just as readily as they do for James & Lily.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Beauty of the Abstract; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Most Important Meal; Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Magical MC (x2) (Y x1); Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2) (Y); Ethnic & Present; Lovely Triangle; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo (x2); Gender Bender; Lunar Era (Y); Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon (Y); Greatest Gift (Y); Gwen's HP Checklist [Celestial Petals]; Skittles [Trans]  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 01  
**Subject (Task No.):** Zoology (Task#02: Write a character expressing one of the following emotions: suspicious, offended, or _frustrated_.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [752](Different House); 365 [12](Annoying)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Sp Bingo [4E](Fertility); Tr Bingo [3B](Mooks); Su Bingo [5A](Red); AU [1C](Shopkeeper); Ship (Lunar Lion) [Sp Big](Ceramic Mug); Chim [Limu](Ceramic Mug); TWT [T1](Red); Fire [Hard](Hold the Mayo); Hunt [Sp WD](Nonbinary)/[Su Set](Farmhouse)/[Sp Item](Pot/Pan)/[Su Item](Box)/[Sp Con](Tea); Garden [Chore List](Laughing)/[Bed Types](Cottage)/[Plant Types](Parent & Child)/[Garden Tools](Ceramic Mug/Teacup)/[HPverse](Ravenclaw N/PR)/[Plant Food](Herbs/Spices)**  
Representation(s):** Desi Potters; Mother & Child; Lunar Lion QPR; Nonbinary Harry Potter with ADHD  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts; Bast's Blessing; Vid Tangent; Wind Beneath; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Nontraditional Family; Zucchini Bread; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Three's Company); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn); Demo 1 (Corvid Brain; Under the Bridge; Muck & Slime; Civil Disobedience; Inky Shadow; Grease Monkey); Demo 2 (Jet Fuel; Sitting Hummingbird)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Tether); LiCK (Yarrow); FR (Satisfaction; Liberation); O3 (Orator; Oust); TY (Enfant; Ntaiv)  
**Word Count:** 1535

(^^)  
**Frustrations of Living**  
(^^)

Harry hummed as they finished securing the end of their waist-length braid with a gray ribbon embroidered with the Potter seal in crimson. Knowing that they was going to be meeting Luna at the station later, they had left a hand's length loose beyond the ribbon. Their best friend liked to play with fluffy silkiness, so they tried to accommodate her whenever possible. In return, Luna accepted their presence inside her personal space, despite her dislike of other people in it. Some people thought that Luna was distant because of that, but Harry knew it was just what she did to prevent becoming overwhelmed by things touching her. It was no different from Harry humming to block out unpleasant noises. Luna was also very skilled at running off even the most aggressive fans—mostly of their parents, but there were a few who bought into the ridiculous tale that _they_ had defeated Voldemort instead of their mother.

Mayhem chittered at them, drawing their attention to the digital clock where the black squirrel was lounging. If Harry wanted to eat before they needed to Floo to King's Cross, then they had better get moving. Harry scooped up Mayhem and grabbed their bag for the train before heading to the kitchen.

The six strands they had used to make it also meant that the braid was wide enough that the squirrel would be able to hide under it in cases of trouble.

Trouble usually came in one of three forms for Harry. The first was the most benign, a bossy Gryffindor girl in his year. Hermione Granger didn't like that they often bested her in class and on exams. They had tried to help her understand how they did it, but she couldn't seem to understand that they weren't playing during lectures when they had their ball in their hand. If it couldn't be read in a book, Granger didn't believe that it could exist. She had once reported them to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall for having an unapproved animal at the school, despite how they had gotten special permission to keep Mayhem with them. Granger wasn't a bad person so much as her prescriptive nature made her difficult to befriend, especially once Luna got to Hogwarts and Harry took to hanging out with their fellow Ravenclaw instead of attempting to make friends with their year-mates from other Houses.

The second and third were equally annoying and problematic but in different ways. Professor Snape taught Potions, only nominally because his teaching style was atrocious. All the man did was assign a potion to be brewed and then berate anyone who messed up making it. Moony was better at teaching Potions, and Moony couldn't brew anything other than tea! Aside from his horrible teaching, Snape also seemed to have a personal grudge against Harry and delighted in finding ways to punish Harry for things. Harry didn't even need to break the rules to earn point deductions or detentions, and Luna was typically caught up in the mess with them. Padfoot was both proud that Harry had surpassed his and Harry's dad's detention record and dismayed that it was only because of Snape's unchecked bias.

Their parents had tried arguing with the headmaster about it, but apparently Albus Dumbledore saw nothing wrong with how Snape acted. That was one of the reasons why Harry had trouble with the old man. The other reasons all came back to the same point: Dumbledore seemed convinced that Harry should be something other than what they was. When Harry had gone into Ravenclaw, Dumbledore had called Harry into his office to offer condolences for not making Gryffindor, like their father and mother. He also seemed convinced that Voldemort wasn't really gone, which Harry knew wasn't true.

Their mother had said that Voldemort had been captured the day he killed Harry's father and that he was nothing more than a bad chapter in the history of their corner of the wixen world. Harry knew they could trust anything their mother said in the tone that sounded like she was bracing for a fight. Lily Evans Potter did not play when it came to certain topics.

Only two things ever drew that particular tone from her: the Blood War and any type of discrimination. Since the Blood War only happened because of discrimination, it was often drew their mother's rare displays of actual temper. If Padfoot was around, it was even worse for the target of that rage, because those particular two of their parents easily fed into each other's emotions. Moony was the most level-headed of their parents, too used to keeping control of himself and his instincts.

"Harry," Lily called out as she turned from the stove to put the potato masala she had just finished making into a travel container. She grinned when she spotted them in the doorway. Her white teeth stood out against the dark tan of her face as sunlight caught in her dark red hair, making it glow like an aura around her head. "There you are, darling. Remus left a pot of chai on the stove before he left for the shop earlier. He said it's specifically for you to take on the train. There's dosa and chutney for the train, too."

"Beetroot?" Harry asked as they spotted the purple chutney. They grabbed a dosa from a nearby plate of them to scoop a bit of chutney and masala onto it. Mayhem jumped from their shoulder to the counter by the plate to grab his own dosa as Harry grabbed their purple mug from the little tree of them by the stove. They held his rolled dosa in their mouth precariously as they filled the mug a bit of the spiced tea.

"And ginger for Luna," Lily added. She frowned at Mayhem. As if sensing her gaze, the squirrel paused in eating his snack to look up at her. Lily was already pulling out her wand and summoning something. Mayhem clucked a warning at her as his service harness came sailing into view. "Now to get you ready, you tiny agent of chaos."

The squirrel tried to leap off the counter, only to get tangled up in his dosa and fall into the sink. He whined pitifully as Lily scooped him up and put the red harness on him. It was only necessary for the Muggle part of the train station. Otherwise, the Muggles might ask too many questions about his presence. The harness wasn't even a lie, as Mayhem did have all the necessary training and paperwork to be considered a service animal.

Mayhem still hated his harness with a passion that he usually reserved for squash, no matter how well trained he was. The squirrel announced his displeasure to the world. From her bed near the pantry, Murder raised her striped head at the screech. The cat flicked her single white ear at the noise before standing, stretching, and finally turning around to lay with her back to the group. Her stub of a tail flicked in clear irritation at the disturbance to her morning routine.

The moment Lily finished putting on his harness, Mayhem jumped back to the counter. He slid a bit from the inertia before managing to right himself. His fluffy tail curled over his back defensively, obscuring the bright red of the harness with his black fur. He glared balefully at Lily before jumping from the counter back to Harry's shoulder to take refuge under their braid.

Harry refused to laugh. Lily had no issue laughing at the frustrated squirrel for a brief moment before glancing at the red and gold cat-shaped clock on the wall over the kitchen table. With her own sigh of frustration, she used her wand to transfer the contents of the teapot on the stove to Harry's personal thermos.

"Every year, without fail," she muttered as she directed containers to pack themselves with her wand. She puffed out a breath as she tied off the stack of contained food with a red ribbon bearing the Potter seal (in a clay-gray this time). "One of these years, we will not be rushing to meet the train, I swear. Are you ready, darling?"

Harry finished off their breakfast, washing it down with the last of their tea. Mayhem chittered grumpily as Harry rinsed their mug. They gave an abbreviated sign meant to convey their lack of enthusiasm. Lily rolled her eyes as she would if Padfoot was overly dramatic about something.

"Like you aren't eager to see Luna," Lily said as she handed off the tiffin stack for Harry to shove into their bag. She gave them a teasing look. "You haven't seen her in a whole week. I honestly don't know how you survived!"

"I don't live in Luna's pocket, you know."

"Of course not," Lily agreed, her emerald eyes glittering merrily. "You both live in your books, just like Remus, and only come up to eat before diving in again."

Paragon of maturity, even at the tender age of sixteen, that they were, Harry stuck out their tongue at their mother. Lily just laughed as she ushered them both to the Apparation point in the back garden.


	87. In Denial

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So I wrote this in only a few hours. Enjoy the pining.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Beauty of the Abstract; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x3); Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC (x3); Magical MC (x7); Neurodivergent (x4); Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (x6); Ethnic & Present (x3); The 3rd Rule; Ship Sails; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Do It for Howard; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Gwen's HP Checklist [Heroic Shadow]; Skittles [Pan Masc]; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Astronomy (Task#1: Write about someone or something that stands out.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [935](In Denial); 365 [25](Believe); Herbology Club [3-3](Mamihlapinatapai); Auction [1-1](Dialogue)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [5E](Heat); AU [4A](Gamer); Hunt [Sp Items](Potted Plant); Ship (Heroic Shadow) [SuBig](Lemonade); Chim [Limu](Sharing); Fire [Hard](Cutlasses); Garden [Word Song](Amazing)**  
Representation(s):** Agender Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; The DA as Family  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Brooms Only; Car in a Tutu; Clio's Conclusion; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Trickster's Union); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Bast's Blessing; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Orator; Oath); TY (Slainte)  
**Word Count:** 2098

(^^)  
**In Denial**  
(^^)

It was just a normal night.

Actually, it wasn't a normal night at all.

It was _Game Night_.

Once a month, all of the surviving members of the Defense Association gathered at one of their homes (usually Harry's, because he was the only one who owned an actual house that had been wired for electricity, but only if he could arrange for Andromeda to take Teddy for the night), and they would play any game that suited their fancy. Depending on how many people were available at the time and where they decided to meet, they would play either video games or board games. Sometimes (only very occasionally), they would play other kinds of games—the kind which usually involved some kind of alcohol or were the result of them imbibing some kind of alcohol.

Harry always did his best to become invisible during those games. It seemed like nearly everyone had done more stuff than him and had no problem doing things with each other just for fun. Or at least it looked like they were enjoying themselves when they kissed each other or made out in closets for the strangely specific seven minutes required.

Ginny had looked especially happy when she had come out a round of that game not only looking very flushed and disheveled but dating Luna who had looked like a cat who had gotten into the cream.

The thing about Game Night wasn't that kind of stuff, though.

It was the Slytherin contingent.

About a year after the end of the war (and six months after the establishment of Game Night), Justin Finch-Fletchley had tentatively asked if he could bring his boyfriend. Having Theodore Nott join them had gone surprisingly smoothly. It helped that Theo had been friends with Luna when they had both attended the same primary school and had only drifted apart after Luna's mother had died and Luna had stopped attending Muggle school. Reconnecting with him had also brought Luna out of her shell a bit.

But one Slytherin had slowly morphed into several. Theo had eventually brought Daphne and Tracey. With Daphne came first her sister Astoria and then later Astoria had dragged in Draco like a grumpy kitten. And one night about three months ago, Tracey had brought along _him_.

Him being none other than Blaise Zabini, of course.

He was just as handsome as he had been back in their sixth year. The hair that he had worn cut short had grown out. He wore it now in dozens of thick twists which sprung out in different directions. Every month so far, Blaise had shown up with the twists dyed a different color or colors. The first month they had been a bright blue. The next month some of the twists had still been that blue but there were also an equal amount that were sunshine yellow and neon pink. Last month they had been Gryffindor red and gold, something that had made Daphne and Tracey burst out into giggles all night.

Harry told himself that the vivid colors were the only reason that he kept looking at the Slytherin. It made sense, after all. Ginny had caught his eye with her bright red hair. Cho had looked amazing in her cobalt Quidditch robes. Cedric had been hard to miss in his canary yellow ones, too.

But just liking how Blaise did his hair didn't explain why Harry felt like there were butterflies in his stomach every time Blaise smiled. Once, Blaise had actually laughed, and Harry had felt like the world had flipped its poles. Then Blaise had glanced over at Harry and they had accidentally made eye contact. Harry had immediately frozen in place like a deer in the headlights of a car.

Luckily, there had been a swell of friendly bickering over Astoria's apple pick that had broken the moment before it could become awkward.

Harry just had to remember that there was no possible way that Blaise Zabini could be interested in the likes of him. He could admire the other man's beauty from afar, but it would never be more than that. Harry was too scruffy and scrawny for Blaise to ever be willing to be seen in public with him, and that was besides the staunchly devout following Harry still had from various reporters. It wasn't reasonable to ask anyone to put up with that.

That wasn't even taking into consideration how Harry didn't really fit the expectations of being a man even though he was definitely not a woman. He was sort of just figuring that part out, with the dubious help of Theo and Luna. It wouldn't be fair to drag someone into that confusion.

Then tonight, Blaise had shown up with all of his twists done in a deep indigo that was close to violet. Harry couldn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest. He might not understand what drove Blaise to change his hair color so frequently, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that tonight Blaise's hair was exactly Harry's favorite color.

Not that many people know that part.

In fact, Harry didn't think that any of his friends knew except for Luna, who always knew everything.

Harry eyed Luna who was sitting in an armchair across the room with Ginny on her lap. The blonde was already looking in his direction with a knowing smile on her lips. Meeting his eyes in a way that she normally avoided as much as he did, Luna raised her glass in a salute and tilted it slightly towards him.

This was torture, pure and simple, and it was all Luna's fault.

"Harry, come over here," Hermione called from beside Tracey on one side of his vee-shaped couch. Obediently, Harry headed her way.

She had claimed the corner spot that was normally his. Harry wasn't going to fight her for it either, not when he knew that the pregnancy was making her back ache. The curve in that spot was amazingly comfortable. That did mean that Harry tended to end up hanging around the potted plant he had stashed in the corner farthest from the arrangement where most of the group had gathered as they debated what to play while they waited for everyone to arrive.

"Tracey was just telling me about something that I thought you might find interesting," Hermione explained once he had settled on the opposite side of her from Tracey. As had become her habit over the years, she wrapped her arm around his and interlaced their fingers. He relaxed into the familiar touch. "Did you know that in magical Britain, it's considered bad luck to just approach someone for the sake of starting a relationship?"

"What?" Harry asked, unable to process that.

Hermione didn't sound like she was about to launch into an angry rant about how restrictive that would be. In fact, she sounded a bit like she did whenever she was scheming. Not that Hermione did that a lot. She mostly left the tricks and schemes to Ron and George, if only because Hermione didn't like lying or hiding information. Something within her was always going to want to share what she knew with the entire world. Last time she had used that tone of voice was right before she announced she was pregnant with her and Ron's first child.

"Oh, yes," Tracey agreed, picking up the thread of conversation, "there's quite a few superstitions around anything that involves exchanging names. It can make things overly complicated at times, but then again, there's enough evidence of how magic can be finicky when it first comes in contact with other magical things, that it can be hard to tell what is wisdom and what is merely superstition."

"But how do people meet each other?" he asked, even more confused now.

He thought back to how pale and shaky Ron had been after he had dared to approach Fleur to ask her to the Yule Ball. At the time, Harry had only thought it was from being rejected, but what if it was more than that? Then again, neither Viktor nor Hermione had seemed ill around that time, and one of them had to have approached the other, right?

"They are usually introduced by people who know either them or the other person," Tracey explained just as Daphne handed her a glass of the blackberry lemonade that Harry had made special for tonight. The regal-looking blonde sat down next to her wife like a bird alighting on a perch, spreading out the skirt of her periwinkle dress with a deliberate casualness. Harry felt his heart trying to escape his chest through his throat as he realized that Blaise had followed her and was now sitting beside her. Tracey continued as Harry tried to think of an excuse to flee before he did something embarrassing. "As a completely random aside, I would like to introduce my friend Blaise Zabini, son of Claudia. He's hopelessly besotted with you and would like to court you."

"Oh, brilliant," Hermione agreed while Harry was still trying to untangle his thoughts. "This is my friend Harry Potter, child of Lily and James. Amazingly enough, he is also hopelessly besotted with you, Blaise, and would probably need to be courted before anything happened."

"Hermione," Harry whispered urgently. He couldn't believe she was just _telling people_ that. Didn't she know how weird it would make everything? He would need to pack up Teddy and move to France just to escape the weirdness. Hermione rubbed his arm with her free hand as if to soothe him.

"He's a bit shy," Hermione said in the bossy tone she tended to get when she thought that someone was missing something obvious, "but don't let that fool you. He would love to go out with you."

"Hermione," Harry interrupted, even more urgently now, "you can't just agree to a date for someone else!" She just patted his arm. He groaned and turned his eyes toward the ceiling. "This is how people die!" He lowered his gaze at his friend who was smiling at him in her best impression of Luna. "Do you not watch movies?"

"I won't pressure you if you truly do not want to be courted," Blaise said, speaking up for the first time. Harry was startled into meeting his dark gaze, freezing like a deer yet again. "But I would really like it if you would give me the chance to prove that we are not living in a horror movie. I have to admit that I was hoping that our lives had settled into a nice romantic comedy by now."

"Did you…" Harry trailed off and swallowed against the lump in his throat. Hermione's hand tightened reassuringly on his arm. "You understood my reference."

"Yes?" Blaise replied, sounding confused about why that might be a big deal. He finally broke their eye contact to look between Daphne and Tracey as if they had the answer. Tracey was grinning so wide her face had to hurt. Daphne rolled her pretty green eyes and patted Blaise's knee a couple of times.

"Think about how often someone actually understands what you and Tracey babble about, love," Daphne said in her perpetually bored tone. She picked imaginary lint off her periwinkle dress. "Potter likely shares a lot of those exact same experiences, with the added bonus of needing to worry about what will get passed along to whichever reporter is in charge of the Harry Potter life column for their publication."

"Oh," Blaise said. His eyes were even more intense when he looked back. "You wouldn't happen to be interested in going to a viewing of _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_, would you? Tracey was going to go with me, but she's being sent out of the country next week and won't be able to."

"I have never seen it," Harry admitted. He leaned forward eagerly. "Is it true that it has Tim Curry in it? Because I love Tim Curry."

Blaise smiled just as widely as Tracey was. His teeth were incredibly white against his dark face, and his hair twists seemed to quiver with his happiness. Harry's stomach felt like it was full of butterflies, just like it always did when Blaise was openly happy around him. However, he was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, there was a real chance that Blaise might be genuinely interested in him and also willing to put up with all the madness that came along with Harry's life.

Maybe this really could work out.


	88. Written in the Stars

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So I'm fairly certain that I will not be able to keep up this pace, but I am doing this challenge on the Hogwarts forum where word count generates coins that allow ya bid on prompts.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Bonjour-Hi; Cry Power; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x7); Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (x4); Tiny Terror; The 3rd Rule; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Red Era; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Gwen's HP Checklist [Genderqueer Sirius]; Skittles [Agender]; Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Archaeology (Task#8: Write about a guardian or protector.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [940](Written in the Stars); 366 [196](Loyalty); Auction [1-3](Marlene McKinnon/Bellatrix Lestrange); Herbology [3-2](Kilig); Ferragosto [03](A Rich & Powerful Wixen Family)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SuB [2A](Gray); AU [2E](Soul Marks); Ship (n/a)[Sp Mic 1](Soul Marks AU); Hunt [Sp Items](Tichel); TWT [T3](Gray); Fire [Hard](Cutlasses); Garden [RAC 02](Monochrome Mark (Touch)); Chim [Limu](Sharing)**  
Representation(s):** Agender Sirius Black; Jewish McKinnons; Marlene McKinnon/Bellatrix Black  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **placeholder  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Negate); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Orator; Olivine); HoSE (Schooner; Sanctuary); War (Orator; Sanctuary); TY (Ntaiv; Kulonbozo; Enfant)  
**Word Count:** 1574

(^^)  
**Written in the Stars**  
(^^)

The McKinnons had always been in the same social circles as the Blacks. Then again, _everyone_ was. As the largest pure-blood family, the Blacks were everywhere. They were rich. They were magical powerhouses. They were charismatic. Every single one of them drew in people like flowers drew in bees. The only difference was that the Blacks had more in common with the bees than the flowers. Honey dripped from their lips as if begging for a kiss, and their stings were always poisoned.

Both the McKinnons and the Blacks tended towards the same philosophies when it came to traditions and magical practices. Each House had their specialties, of course, but even there the two families were compatible. The Blacks excelled at offensive magic. They even tended to have a battle mindset, just like the barbarians in the ancient legends who could plow through entire armies as easily as a farmer did his fields. The McKinnons focused on defensive magic. They created wards that no force could crack and armies of golems to defend their homes and estates.

By some fluke of fate, they had never married into each other, but they had worked on mutual projects in the past. They weren't allies per se, but they could be under the right circumstances. Even then, Marlene's grandfather had had plenty words of caution to pass down.

"Always have a backup plan when working with a Black," Zayde had always said. The stress had long ago creased the brown skin on his forehead, but no amount of age seemed to rob him of his thick iron gray hair. The smell of potions hung around him like a shroud. "You never know when they will be swept away by their Madness and do something foolish. They are powerful like giants, yes, but remember always that a well-aimed pebble can fell even the greatest of those."

"Blacks never do anything just part-ways," Bubbe had once explained. The lively green of her soul mark covered most of her chin and left cheek. Marlene had always hoped that when her soulmate touched her for the first time that she would get an equally lovely color to fill in the gray hand print encircling her right forearm like an oversize bracelet. "Anything they do—fighting, loving, whatever—it is always done with all that they are. To gain the heart and loyalty of a Black would be an incredible boon, to be sure, but should the heart and loyalty be divided?" Bubbe shook her head, the tiny coins on the edges of her gray tichel ringing merrily with the motion. "The conflict would be more destructive than any war, even—"

She had laid her fingers lightly over her left sleeve in silent acknowledgment of the number inked to the skin beneath. Marlene had left as the past became more present in her grandmother's eyes, knowing that her mother was better at dealing with Bubbe when she retreated like that and someone would need to fetch her.

Marlene was still not prepared for her first encounter with a Black.

Sirius Black was like an overgrown puppy with only a dollop of obedience training. Only instead of chewing on shoes, Sirius had decided annoy his least even-tempered cousin in the middle of King's Cross before their first year at Hogwarts. At some point during the chase, Bellatrix had pulled her wand and had started taking shots at Sirius as he dodged and weaved through the crowd of students and families seeing them off.

As Sirius rushed around her and her mother, a sickly yellow-green curse followed. It passed close enough that Marlene felt the warm tingle of it against her cheek. The proximity was enough to set off the protective wards in the necklaces that each family member wore.

In a burst of white light tinged ever so faintly with blue, the figure of a man appeared. He had been made out of a gray clay and hardened in a fire so hot it had left scorch marks in its wake. His eyes were a glowing red-orange like hot coals. Slowly, the golem scanned the crowded platform. Marlene wasn't worried about Zeira potentially hurting anyone, not really. He had been made to protect her after all.

"Whoa," Sirius said from right beside Marlene and her mother, having stopped when the golem had appeared. He bounded back the few feet to get a better look. His stormy gray eyes then landed on Marlene and her mother. His voice became filled with a pleased sort of shock. "You're a _McKinnon_."

"And you're a Black," Marlene said archly. She crossed her arms, suddenly irritated with the whole affair. "Do all the boys in your family pick on pick on the girls?"

"I wouldn't know," Sirius quipped. He gave a wide grin that would have been more at home on one of Zayde's hunting dogs. He shook his head like one of them, too. "I'm not a boy. Besides, I'm fairly certain that Bellatrix identifies as a _monster_, not as anything as mundanely human like a girl."

At that exact moment, Bellatrix fired another curse at Sirius, an icy blue one this time. Sirius yelped dramatically when he spotted it and ducked just in time for it to pass harmless over his head. It hit one of the pillars behind him. Thick frost spread out from the impact point in a beautiful lacy pattern. Sirius stared at it with wide eyes.

Unfortunately, the golem had identified the potential threat now. He turned towards Bellatrix with a feline-like fluidity before crouching down and springing into the air. He landed in front of the thirteen-year-old as softly as a cat as well. Despite already rushing to intervene, Marlene couldn't help but admire her grandfather's craftsmanship. Zeira was truly magnificent.

"Zeira, _no_," Marlene ordered as firmly as possible as she skidded around the large golem. She held her hands up as if she could physically stop him if he disobeyed. He tilted his head down to look at her with his orange eyes. "It's just cousins messing with each other. I'm not in any danger."

"Bashiremen," Zeira announced in a voice as loud as two boulders crashing into each other. She smiled up at him. All of the family golems had very limited vocabulary. To the extent that most of them never bothered even trying to speak when summoned. But Zeira _always_ spoke to her, at least once.

"I'm not in any danger," she repeated. Marlene made sure to sound confident and certain. Zayde had made all of the golems sensitive to their person potentially being forced to lie about their safety. She pushed the memory of her grandmother touching her own arm away as unnecessary and distracting at this moment.

Zeira looked a bit hesitant and confused. That was a truly wondrous feat considering how he lacked the features that humans would have used to convey that. Her grandfather deserved all the accolades that had been heaped on him by the other rabbis for his work.

Sirius skidded around the golem, bumping into Marlene in the process. Bellatrix hissed something under her breath as she caught Marlene's arm to keep her from being knocked down. A soft heat flashed through Marlene at the touch. It left behind a comforting warmth that radiated from where Bellatrix still held Marlene's bare arm, completely covering Marlene's soul mark.

Marlene raised her gaze to meet Bellatrix. For her part, the teen looked just as shocked. At least, her gray eyes were just as wide as Marlene's eyes felt. Bellatrix also looked like someone had hit her over the head with a walking stick.

"No bloody way," Sirius breathed next to Marlene. "You're _soulmates_?! But Bella doesn't _have_ a soul!"

"You're lucky I'm suddenly busy, you brat," Bellatrix snapped without breaking eye contact with Marlene, "or I would hex your tongue to the roof of your mouth for that."

"You'd have to _catch me_ first, wouldn't you?" Sirius returned. He slung an arm around Marlene's shoulders, prompting Zeira to take an aborted step forward as if to defend her. "Besides, you wouldn't want to scare your _soulmate_ with family dramatics, now would you? Did you know she's a McKinnon?"

"The golem did hint at that," Bellatrix said drily. She finally let go of Marlene's arm to examine her now violet palm. "I had always thought it would be through a formal meeting."

Marlene nodded her understanding. It was traditional to have a couple shake hands prior to finalizing a betrothal. Not being soulmates was not commonly a reason not to enter into a contract, because so few soulmates actually met, but children born to such unions tended to be magically stronger. Thus the tradition began, and now a lot of people had their soul marks on the palms of their hands.

She glanced at the now-activated soul mark on her arm. The violet hand print stood out starkly against the deep tan color of her skin. Marlene had known her entire life that she would not be meeting her soulmate in that traditional way. Bellatrix clearly hadn't. Was she disappointed?

"I _told you_ that wouldn't happen," Sirius interrupted Marlene's spiraling thoughts. She looked back up, instinctively seeking out Bellatrix's gaze.

"So you did," Bellatrix agreed quietly. Her eyes glittered like stars. Something inside of Marlene settled into serene acceptance. She shouldn't have worried.

After all, their fate was already written in the stars.


	89. A Secret to Tell

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So for anyone who is wondering, Harini has multiple meanings but one of them is a flowering shrub in India/Pakistan. Also, this is the very first time that I wrote a Lily Lives AU that didn't end up with a Celestial Petal ship.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Puppy Love; True Colours; Writing with Music; Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Magical MC (x3); LEO MC; Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present (x2); Tiny Terror; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Skittles [Bi Masc]; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** DIY & Home Repair (Task#1: Write about a connection or combination of something that makes things better.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [536](Lime Green); Words [204](Mischievous);

Herbology Club [3-9](Apnapan); Auction [1-2](Kingsley Shacklebolt); Ferragosto [07](Character with Flower Name)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **SuB [1C](Fire); AU [5C](Creature); Hunt [Sp Items](Fidget Toy); Garden [Rose Types](A Secret to Tell); Fire [Hard](Cutlasses); Ship (StarSt)[SpMed1](Parent/Teacher); TWT (NB Sirius)[Task 4](Green); Chim [Limu](Sharing)**  
Representation(s):** Desi Potters; Depressed & NB Sirius Black; Co-Parenting Marauders; Pre-Starry Storms  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; Lyre Liar; Most Human Bean; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; No Touchy)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** TY (Ntaiv; Kulonbozo; Enfant); T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Ox)  
**Word Count:** 1031

(^^)  
**A Secret to Tell**  
(^^)

Kingsley managed to keep from rolling his eyes as he walked away (and it was definitely walking, not fleeing) from yet another mother who was obviously flirting with him. He had to remember that this wasn't a normal case where he could react to any of the annoying things that people did. There were kids about who were looking to him as a role model. If they saw him being disrespectful, then they were bound to mimic him.

Next time the Auror Corps were contacted about teaching basic self defense to pre-Hogwarts children, Kingsley was going to find some critical mission out of the country or under deep cover. Maybe he would fake a serious illness. Hell, maybe he would find some way to actually contract a serious illness. Anything to save him from desperate mothers who couldn't stop cackling like the Muggle stereotypes of witches.

Maybe he could fake an alarm calling him away?

The class itself was already over. This was just the meet and greet reception afterwards. So it wouldn't really be skiving, even if Amelia probably wouldn't buy that when Rufus wrote him up for it.

A soft hissing sound drew his attention to the table he was standing beside. The pale green tablecloth had been moved aside nearest the wall. The cartoon carrots printed on the fabric were running away from the spot on spindly orange legs. The motion distracted him for a long moment before another hiss recaptured his attention.

The large eyes that took up most of the brown face he found looking at him were the greenest he had ever seen, even if they were vaguely familiar. The little girl gave him a grin that would have been toothy if her front teeth weren't missing. He vaguely remembered her from the class as one of the few who knew British Sign Language. He had had to bite back laughter a couple of times as she sassed the other kids in it. He thought she had introduced herself as _Harini_.

When she gestured for him to join her under the table, Kingsley did not hesitate.

His mother raised him with more manners than to keep a lady waiting, after all.

Kingsley was fully under the table before he noticed the huge black dog that the girl was leaning against like it was a backrest. He supposed that it belonged to the girl because not only was the dog tolerating her shoving at it until she had settled comfortably but it was also wearing a lime green collar. The dog watched him with an uncanny awareness in his gray eyes as the girl pulled out a ball from somewhere and began passing it from hand to hand.

"Don't mind Paddy," Harini told him. Unsurprisingly, her words came out a bit mashed. It was better than he would have expected with her missing teeth. "They don't bite unless you ask nicely. At least that's what they tells Moony."

"They speak?" Kingsley asked dumbly. He blamed the lack of caffeine in his system for how long it took him to figure out that _Paddy_ had to be an Animagus. Well, maybe he could also blame having to deal idiots all afternoon. "They've got a collar, though?"

"Uh-huh," the girl agreed with a series of jerky nods that made her black curls bounce around her head. "Moony says that they've got to wear it if they're gonna be a dog in public. It's 'cause they're so big. People would be afeared of them."

"Afraid," Kingsley corrected automatically, used to how his niblings tended to mispronounce things. It was difficult to tell exactly, because the girl was so small, but he thought they might roughly the same age. If so, then Harini was very small and slim for being nearly eight. Maybe she was younger, despite the way she was acting. "Your dad spends a lot of time as a dog, then?"

"Paddy is not my dad," the girl replied. She sounded as if Kinglsey was being ridiculous to even suggest that they were. Her expression suggested that she might think he was a bit dim as well. "Paddy is my Paddy, just like Moony is my Moony. And they are only a dog some of the time, like Moony is. Mummy says that they've got the deeps and being a dog helps. They're still a person, though, which is why they can take me places. Sometimes we just have to hide for a little bit."

"So you have three parents?" Kingsley asked. He was only getting more confused. While polyamory was not uncommon in the wixen world at large, it was relatively rare in the British Isles where they seemed to be stuck in the Victorian era. Then again, the girl might be speaking with a British accent, but her features screamed that she was from one of the families that had immigrated from the Indian subcontinent. Maybe such configurations were common there like they were in his own African heritage.

"I have five," she chirped happily. "Tante Marlene and Aunt Rhiannon finally made an honest man of Moony. Mummy says it took 'em so long because of Moony's _condition_. He didn't believe that they would really like him because he gets all grouchy once a month. He's always better after his napping day, so I don't know why he thinks that. Paddy says Moony is just an idiot and always has been."

The dog made a chuffing sound like they would have been laughing if they was in their human form. The girl elbowed them hard enough that Kingsley winced sympathy. Then she got a very mischievous look on her face.

"Wanna know a secret?" she asked like she was planning something. Kingsley hesitated as Paddy squirmed nervously. He was feeling a little nervous himself. Despite his misgivings, Kingsley finally gave the girl the nod she obviously wanted. "Paddy thinks you're pretty and they really likes your butt."

Kingsley choked on his tongue as the dog let out a long whine and covered their nose with their paws.

Even without seeing Paddy's human form, Kingsley had the feeling that he wouldn't mind any flirting nearly as much.


	90. Adventures in Xanadu

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So, my zucchini wrote a fic with an NB who used the name "Turtle" for a while and got feedback that acted like that name was ridiculous. So for all my fellow trans people out there who chose "you can't be serious" names, may I present a Black Jewish NB named "Apple". It is not childish, and it is completely valid.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Beauty of the Abstract; Bonjour-Hi; Cry Power; Hufflepuff MC; Beauxbatons MC; Magical MC (x2); LEO MC; Criminal MC; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Skittles [Pan Masc]; Short Jog; Bucket Listing; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Journalism (Task#4: Write about someone unexpected committing a crime.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [823](Only two characters); 365 [211](Murder); Herbology Club [4-1](Trans Character); Auction [3-2](Edgar Bones); Pinata [Med](Auror); Ferragosto [09](Bilingual Character)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [3C](Growth); AU [5E](Flower Shop); Hunt [Su Items](Potted Plant); Chim [Limu](Sharing); Ship (n/a)[Sp Big](Flower Pot); TWT (NB OC)[Task 1](Devil's Snare); Fire [Hard](Cutlasses); Garden [RAC 01](Preferred Name on Skin)**  
Representation(s):** placeholder  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Nontradtional; Sneeze Weasel; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Brooms Only; Car in a Tutu; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terrarium); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Orator; Olivine); HoSE (Schooner; Caprice); War (Orator; Obstruction; Sanctuary; Ennui)  
**Word Count:** 2200

(^^)  
**Adventures in Xanadu**  
(^^)

Edgar Bones was not a young man when he married. He wasn't old by wixen standards, of course. As the oldest of his parents' sons, there were expectations that he needed to fulfill. His parents had understood why he had waited as long as he had before finally settling down.

He had wanted no one other than his soulmate.

The only potential issue was that the name on his wrist was something that seemed like a nickname. At least, he didn't know anyone who was named _Apple_, so he had concluded that it was a nickname. That happened sometimes. His parents had each other's Hebrew names and not their Anglicized ones. His brother Isaac had his soulmate's nickname as well, though that nickname had been based on Natalia's first name.

He still wondered how someone got nicknamed after a fruit. What kind of inside joke was it referencing? Did his soulmate just really love apples? Maybe they had once pulled a prank involving apples, and now the legend of it lived on in the form of the nickname.

The reality turned out to be much weirder than Edgar had been expecting.

Edgar had been sent to investigate a potential issue of Muggle-baiting. It was honestly not something which normally required an Auror. The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office would normally handle things like that. However, there was a war going on and while a series of Muggle injuries might have been a case of simply some cursed object making the rounds, a wix had shown up with the exact same kind of bruising around her neck. Unlike the Muggles who had had their memories erased before they could be thoroughly questioned, the wix had kept her memories and had sworn that she had been attacked by a wild Devil's Snare.

The wix's interview had hit the _Daily Prophet_ before anyone from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had even been made aware that there _was_ an attack on a magical person to be investigated. The department head had been in a tizzy, demanding that the case be solved _yesterday_. It was like something out of the radio dramas that Amelia loved so much.

It was also what brought Edger to a tiny little flower shop only a handful of store fronts down the Muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. As expected, the little shop was full to the point of bursting with flowers and plants of all sizes, shapes, and shades. From what he could tell, the owner did not only stock magical plants but Muggle ones as well. While most looked like cut blooms and foliage, there were a few shelves of potted plants for sell.

The strong scent of pollen and damn earth made him sneeze the moment the door swung shut behind him.

"Just a minute," someone called from the room beyond the counter.

Edgar didn't mind waiting. His eyes were starting to fill with tears, however. He conjured a handkerchief and wiped his eyes before blowing his nose for good measure. Damn allergies had picked a hell of a time to act up. The watery eyes made everything too blurry to really see his surroundings, reducing everything to a blur of green with splashes of brilliant colors scattered throughout it.

"Thank you for your patience," said the vaguely person shaped blur that had just come through the doorway to the back. They had skin so dark a brown that it was close to black and something on the top of their head that was the distinctive color of Granny Smith apple. Edger really couldn't tell anything more than that about them because of his watering eyes. Even their voice was too neutral for him to tell if the person was a man or a woman. "Damn Devil's Snare keeps trying to escape its enclosure. I keep pruning it back and reinforcing the wards, but it seems to just grows its vines back every time I turn away for more than ten minutes like it's a magical child with a haircut they hate. Welcome to Xanadu, Mister…"

"Bones," he offered into the breath of space the owner had created. "Senior Auror Edgar Bones."

"Welcome to Xanadu, Auror Bones," the wix repeated, this time with the corrected title. They sounded shockingly happy to hear his name, which wasn't how most people reacted to being visited by any member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was kind of refreshing if Edgar was honest. If he could only get his throat to loosen a bit, he could really enjoy that. "How many I help you today?"

"There's been a series of attacks in the surrounding area," Edgar explained. He had to pause in order to clear his throat and wipe his eyes again. "I'm sorry. Allergies. There's been a series of mysterious attacks, and they appear to be magical in origin."

"Oh, that's horrible. What questions do you have for me? I'll help in any way that I can, of course."

"Do you recognize any of these names?" Edgar asked before rattling off the names of the victims. The florist shook their head. He felt a wave of exhaustion crash over him and the room spun in circles. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to pass out now."

"What are you saying?" they asked. Edgar could barely tell what was a black spot in his vision and what was the person's skin. He could feel himself listing to one side, but his head felt full of cotton. "Vey is mir! What are you doing?!"

Edgar was barely aware of hitting the ground.

When he came to, Edgar was in a room that smelled strongly of cleaning potions. Somewhere nearby a clock ticked loudly. The ticking served as a counterpoint to the snoring coming from even closer. He eyed the person curled up in the uncomfortable chairs that St. Mungo's put into every single room.

Judging by the dark skin and bright hair, this had to be the florist he had been interviewing. in the bright light and cleared vision, Edgar couldn't quite tell if they were a man or a woman. They had a long willowy look could easily be either, and while their facial features were incredibly beautiful, it was in the way that a spectacular sunset might be.

He didn't understand why they were still here, though.

He cleared his throat and the florist jerked awake. Warm brown eyes darted around the room before landing on his face. A huge grin blossomed on their face.

"You're awake," they chirped. "They said that you might be out for a while longer."

"What happened?" Edgar croaked. The florist—he really needed to ask what their name was, and maybe he should get come clarification on their gender while he was at it—uncurled with an expediency that rivaled even the best Seekers in the world and reached for the pitcher and glass that was waiting on the little table beside his bed. "Everything is just a bit hazy."

"Well, apparently, the kholerye Devil's Snare struck again," they explained readily. They rubbed their face with their hand. "The containment wards keep failing, as I told you—but you may not remember that, of course, since your reaction would have already kicked in by then. You're apparently very allergic to the spores, you see. That's what's been interfering with the wards I keep casting on the enclosure, too. Damn spores wear through the magic in order to spread. Which I probably should have known."

"Yeah, you should have," Edgar agreed, because Amelia had been complaining just the other day about having to memorizing the curricula of the different licensing classes for her apprenticeship at the Auror Academy. The breeding precautions was on the list for the license to grow Devil's Snare. He squinted as the florist squirmed in their seat. "Why didn't you know that?"

"Oh, you see," the florist hedged, "I may have—that is to say, I may have just recently acquired the Devil's Snare through, well, fairly dubious means. I was only supposed to have it for a few days, so I may have skipped a bit of paperwork along the way."

"You don't have a license, do you?"

"Not strictly speaking, no," they agreed. Edgar couldn't really tell, but their cheeks might have been just a shade closer to black than the rest of their face.

"And you bought the plant on the black market?"

"Oh, I didn't buy it," they corrected hastily. "I'm just keeping it. You know, for a friend."

Edgar closed his eyes, feeling very tired. That was exactly the sort of thing someone keeping contraband tended to say. For some reason the idea of this person being a criminal was just so unexpected. They seemed too bubbly and not at all like the usual people that Edgar saw being brought through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Edgar sighed.

"Do you really think I haven't heard that before, uh…" Edgar trailed off as he realized still didn't know the person's name. Well, nothing for it but to ask. "I'm sorry. I didn't ask your name earlier."

"That's okay," they replied just as easily as they've answered anything else. "My name is Apple. It's just Apple, too. No family name." Apple grimaced. "No family either. Not for a long while."

"That's…" Edgar struggled to find the words to describe the mixture of thoughts swirling about in his head right then. Several things had begun to make sense though. "You chose that yourself, didn't you?"

"It felt right at the time, yeah," Apple agreed. Their face had become carefully blank while it was clear that keeping their voice even was a struggle. "My parents did not approve of me not being the son they had assumed I was. They didn't approve of a lot of things about me, right from the start."

"I don't understand," Edgar said, reaching up to scratch the side of his neck. Apply looked like they were bracing for a blow. He hurried on, unwilling to leave his soulmate in suspense over something that wasn't true. "Why _Apple_? I thought it was a nickname, not your real name, or I would have been going about looking for you differently."

"Oh," Apple said, sounding flustered again. "When my parents—When I—It sounds kind of stupid now that I think about, actually."

"What happened?"

"We were having a row," Apple explained, "and my father picked up the first thing he could reach and threw it at me. It happened to be an apple." They touched a thin line of pale brown right at their hairline on the right side of their face. "I had the wild thought that if they were going to throw me out like that apple, then I might as well be the apple. Like I said, it felt right at the time. Anything seemed better than keeping the name they had given me. I know it doesn't make much sense now."

"Actually, it makes plenty of sense." Edgar sighed as his thoughts came back around to what he had been investigating. "You're still in a lot of trouble, though. Not just for not having the license either. The attacks were likely from the Devil's Snare spores that got out because you didn't know enough to have the proper precautions in place to prevent them from potentially escaping in the first place."

"That's a lot of P words," Apple commented with a series of bemused blinks. "I admire your gift at alliteration. Oh, and I'm definitely burning the flipping Devil's Snare. It has had it coming for days and now this is the final straw."

"What is the final straw?"

"Damn plant nearly killed my soulmate!" Apple froze and then asked. "That is, if you don't mind a shlimazel as a soulmate?"

"You're not a shlimazel," Edgar argued. "You're just a little bit foolish. Getting rid of the plant is probably for the best, though. Last thing anyone needs is more of it going rogue."

"I feel horrid that people got hurt."

"The Lord works in mysterious ways," Edgar intoned. "They were only hurt, not anything worse, and it led to me finding you. I would call that blessings all around, really."

"Well, there is that, yeah," Apple agreed. They sounded a bit shaken still but not anything that wouldn't be fixed by taking the wix home to meet his parents and siblings.

Edgar almost couldn't wait.

He was definitely going to help oversee the destruction of that damn Devil's Snare, though.

Apple was absolutely correct when they said that the bloody plant had it coming.

Burning it completely to the ground and salting the soil seemed like the best course of action.

Only then would Edgar finally be free to take Apple home and introduce them to their new (and much better, from the sound of it) family. Amelia will positively be beside herself with jealousy, being the only one of them who hadn't met their soulmate yet. Isaac and Nat were even expecting their first child.

Apple gave him a wide grin.

Edgar returned it without hesitation.

Everything would be fine. He just knew it.


	91. Countless Screaming Argonauts

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. There is also a threat of kidnapping & molestation towards a child and a violent protective reaction. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for what I've done to your babies, Gab.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Champions (Y); S'il Vous Plait (Y); Beauty of the Abstract; Inevitable; True Colours; Bonjour-Hi; Writing with Music; Gryffindor MC (x4); Magical MC (x6); Shifter MC; Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Hold the Mayo; Small Fry; Tiny Terror; Booger Breath; Claimed; Ship Sails; Gender Bender; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Skittles [Gay]; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [315](Louis Weasley); 365 [176](Kick); Herbology Club [3-7](Cafune); Auction [6-2](Louis Weasley); Ferragosto [01](A picnic); Pinata [Med](Found Family)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [1E](Sun); AU [4C](Thief/Assassin); Hunt [Su Set](Creek/Stream); Chim [Limu](Sharing); TWT (NB Harry)[Task 3](Hot Chocolate); Fire [Hard](Nontraditional Family); Garden [Rose Types](Countless Screaming Argonauts)**  
Representation(s):** Extended Weasley Family/DA as Family; NB Harry Potter; Louis has Sensory Issues  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus); Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath); Demo 1 (Bad Beans; Under the Bridge; Sweetest Burn); Demo 2 (Call Me Dantes; Sitting Hummingbirds)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction; Gestation); O3 (Orator; Oust); TY (Kulonbozo; Enfant)  
**Word Count:** 1684

(^^)  
**Countless Screaming Argonauts**  
(^^)

Louis didn't understand why people didn't seem to like him much. He wasn't mean like Victorie was. She tended to bite people that made her mad, something that she had picked up from their cousin Teddy. He certainly didn't have Dominique's habit of setting things on fire (mostly accidentally, or so she claimed).

Yet people who weren't related to him (or otherwise in the hodgepodge mess that made up their extended family) seemed to actively avoid him like he had cooties.

Mama always looked sad when he brought it up. She would brush his hair out of his eyes, kiss his forehead, and whisper something that had always been too soft for him to hear more than the impression of the French she had used. Then she would finish the ritual by offering to make hot chocolate for him.

Papa tended to get a bit angry when Louis brought it up. He wasn't angry with Louis, but for the few days following, Papa would hover protectively. It was the same way that Teddy got whenever any of the family got hurt or sick. What was really strange was that Papa would do it over all of them and wouldn't stop until Mama got frustrated enough to actually yell at him—not in French or English, either. Mama saved Bulgarian for those moments.

Uncle Viktor choked on his coffee the first time that he was present when Mama yelled. After she had calmed down, he had asked that she never yell at Papa around Rose and Hugo. Mama's cheeks had turned as red as Papa's hair even as she agreed.

Louis didn't understand why people didn't like him.

Not until the day that he did.

They had gone to visit the ruins of some castle or another. Louis didn't really pay attention to the touristy part of the trip. He cared more about being able to climb and run with his many, many cousins. The entire extended family was there, after all. Even Uncle Charlie and Uncle Oliver had made it, and they hardly ever manage to make it to family gatherings that were the big holidays.

The kids were playing tag as the adults set up for the huge picnic lunch that Grandma Molly had prepared for them. Victorie and Teddy ended up teaming up against Rose and Sabine in what devolved into a sword fight with sticks. Dominique set Rose's stick-sword on fire (accidentally, or so she claimed just like always) which brought some of the adults running. Tired of the chaos, Louis retreated to the small copse of trees nearby.

The sound of birdsong accompanied him as he wandered through the trees to a creek running through it. He settled himself on a rock beside it, enjoying the sunshine filtering through the leaves and the soft sound of water tumbling over rocks nearby. He loved his family, especially his non-blood relatives.

Auncle Harry and Aunt Luna were fun. They did Mama's piercings and Papa's new tattoo. They were raising Teddy, because Teddy's parents had died when he was just a baby. Uncle Oliver had already had Sabine when he married Uncle Percy. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Viktor were just as much a part of his family as Uncle Ron and Aunt Padma.

Thinking of his relatives made him feel all warm and sparkly inside. He would even swear that the afternoon seemed a little brighter and magical around him. He didn't notice how the birds had stopped singing.

"Hello, little one," a man said from nearby.

Louis startled out of his stupor at the sound of a voice so close to him when he hadn't heard anyone coming. The man was very bland looking with a round face that looked like it should belong to someone who was kind. But by the hairs on the back of his neck rising up, Louis did not think that was the case with this man. His pale skin was a dark pink, just like the shade Mama would turn when she forgot to put sunblock potion on herself after putting it on Louis and his sisters.

"Aren't you a pretty little boy?" the man cooed. He waved his fingers at Louis like he was a baby instead of nearly eight. Louis made sure to frown at him in the same way that he had seen Victorie do when someone was being stupid. (Or at least like she did when she couldn't get away with just biting them.) "Oh, don't look like that, love. You should always smile."

"I should go," Louis said as he rose from his seat. He dusted off his pants nervously. Only now that he was standing did he realize that the man was blocking the path back to where his family was picnicking. He eyed the man, unwilling to look away with his instincts screaming at him like they were.

"Don't be like that," the man argued, like Louis was being unreasonable or something. Louis' heart pounded in his chest as the man took a step closer. "Do you like dogs? I have a puppy—a very rare breed. I'm actually looking for him right now. Will you help me?"

"I don't know," Louis said. Papa would want him to help if he could, but Louis didn't think the man actually needed help. He tried to look down the path, but the man blocked it completely. Louis felt his mouth dry with panic. "Let me ask my family."

"But he might get farther away," the man protested, taking another few steps closer. Louis stepped backwards a matching amount of steps. Creek water, as cold as ice but moving too quickly to freeze, immediately soaked through his trainers and socks as it tugged at his ankles insistently. "Careful there, pretty one. You wouldn't want to slip and hurt yourself, now would you?"

The man reached out and grabbed a hold of Louis' arms, lifting him out of the water as easily as Louis could lift one of Grandma Molly's chickens. Louis kicked out his legs desperately. He tried to jerk his arms free. The man just carried out of the creek back to the shore, ignoring how much Louis was fighting him.

"We're going to be the best of friends, you and I," he told Louis as he carried him up the creek, away from the path. "I've been looking for someone like you for a long time, you know. And today—oh, today, I just stumbled across you! Just think about what luck that was!"

"Let me go!" Louis cried, still trying to kick himself free. His heart was pounding so hard that it was like having a hummingbird trapped in his chest. "Let me go! HELP! Somebody help me! S'il vous plaît! Aidez moi! Mama! Papa! N'importe qui!"

"It would be in your best interest to let the child go," Uncle Percy said as he stepped in front of the man. Louis almost cried like a little baby at the sight of him. He looked madder than Louis had ever seen him, all flushed and sweaty like he had been running despite how hot the day was. "Just let him go."

"Uncle Percy!" Louis shouted. "Aidez moi!"

All of a sudden, there was a burst of pressure on both his arms where the man had been holding him and the man was screaming as if in extreme pain. Louis fell to the rocky creek bed, rolling a few times before he managed to get his legs back under him to scrabble away. Auncle Harry pulled him farther away and gave him a gentle push towards Uncle Percy.

"Harry, you can't just—" Uncle Percy started to say, sounding both breathless and officious. Auncle Harry sliced his wand through the air sharply and Uncle Percy cut off whatever he had been about to say. If Uncle Percy was angrier than Louis had ever seen him, Auncle Harry looked like a nesting dragon who was about to roast someone who had dared approach her nest. Louis had never seen Auncle Harry angry at all. Even the time that Teddy and Victorie had managed to collapse an entire wing of their Muggle school on top of them, he had been more scared than mad.

"You broke my fingers," the man wailed. Peeking out around Uncle Percy's legs, Louis could see that all of his fingers had been snapped like twigs and were now bent at strange angles. A small part of him was vindictively pleased at how much that must have hurt. "You bastard! I'll have you arrested for attacking me!"

"Percy, take Louis back to Fleur," Auncle Harry said. Despite the fury in his green eyes, Auncle Harry's voice was flatly even, almost calm. Uncle Percy's hand shook when he placed it on Louis' shoulder to start guiding him back to where the family had set up their picnic. "Oh, and let Luna know that I'm apparently going to the Ministry."

"You are taking him to the Ministry then?" Uncle Percy asked, like that was even in question. Auncle Harry smiled, only increasing the impression of a dragon that Louis was getting.

"Take Louis to Fleur, Percy," Auncle Harry repeated, somehow still sounding both calm and like he was threatening the man. "I'll handle this."

"Harry—"

"Percy," Auncle Harry interrupted. His eyes burned as he looked towards them. "Take him to Fleur. he will need her soon, and she needs to know what happened. I will handle this."

"What will you do?" Uncle Percy asked hesitantly.

Auncle Harry said nothing.

Uncle Percy nodded sharply before finally pulling Louis back towards the path. Once they were out of sight, the man started screaming again only to be cut off by the distinctive loud crack of Disapparation. Louis started crying so hard that Uncle Percy picked him up to finish the walk back through the woods. Uncle Percy ran his fingers through Louis' hair as he carried him back to their picnicking family.

Louis didn't even worry about what his cousins would think of him crying like a baby. He just wanted Mama.


	92. Forever Yours (Rated M)

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So...I saw a picture on Tumblr and then was handed the perfect prompt for it.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Beauty of the Abstract; Inevitable; Shadow HP Bribery; Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x2); Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present (x2); Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [936](Forever Yours); 365 [110](Flesh); Herbology Club [1-4](Lovers); Auction [10-2](Jumper); Ferragosto [04](A Morally Ambiguous Character)(Y)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [5D](Bundle); Hunt [Su Items](Jewelry Box); Chim [Kinzie]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man; Royal Purple; Hurt/Comfort); Ship (Heroic Shadow)[n/a](n/a); TWT (NB Harry)[Task 4](Green); Fire [Hard](Nontraditional Family); Garden [HPverse](Gryffindor N/PR)**  
Representation(s):** Established Harry/Blaise; Desi & NB Harry  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Found Family; Nontraditional; Mother Hen; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lock & Key; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Bandstand; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath); Demo 1 (Bad Beans; Under the Bridge); Demo 2 (Sitting Hummingbird)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); HoSE (Schooner); TY (Ntaiv); CM (Briar; Unilateral; Yogin)  
**Word Count:** 720

(^^)  
**Forever Yours**  
(^^)

Harry had a thing.

Call it a habit.

Sometimes Blaise would call it _torture_, but that was mostly because he often noticed what Harry was wearing at the time when it was least convenient to do anything about it. He would then have to wait several hours, knowing exactly want was under Harry's oversized jumpers and too long jeans, before he could ravish his lover properly.

Blaise didn't know where Harry had gotten the idea to start wearing lingerie. Despite how much it made Blaise want to touch and taste and yes, _fuck_ the little wix, Blaise was certain that Harry wasn't doing it for _him_. He knew better than to ask for details, too. Navigating the minefield left behind by those who had used Harry was tricky on the best days and with less sensitive topics.

Harry's desire to wear pretty things that were traditionally prescribed to women was particularly sensitive. It was delicate. It was _precious_. The fact that Blaise knew about it at all was a sign of how much his soulmate trusted Blaise, and he would _never_ betray that trust.

So Blaise didn't know where Harry had gotten the idea.

By the gods, he wished that he did know, though, because he wanted to erect a fucking monument in their honor.

Especially in moments like this when he managed to sneak up on Harry—a near impossibility that was another lasting legacy from the people who had tried to subdue his lover, to break him and destroy him—and got to see Harry in the middle of getting dressed for some outing or another.

Harry had already pulled on his favorite jumper. The thick green wool would be perfect for icy temperatures that awaited them at the ice sculpture festival that they were planning to attend with Harry's godparents and the whole hoard of Weasleys. Like most of Harry's jumpers, this one came down to the middle of Harry's thighs as well as past the tips of his fingers. Like lovers teasing each other, the hem of the sweater brushed along the top of the black silk stockings Harry already had on.

Blaise had a glimpse of Harry's perfectly pert backside, including the glitter of a princess plug that must have been taken from the special jewelry box that was sitting innocently on Harry's vanity, as Harry bent over to step into a pair of lacy panties that were Harry's preferred shade of purple. The regal color looked positively _edible_ against the rich tan of Harry's skin. As he pulled the underwear into place, Blaise let out a low groan.

Harry flashed a small, knowing smile over his shoulder at Blaise.

"Minx," Blaise accused lightly. Harry's green eyes sparked with his humor as he rolled his hips as if testing the fit of the panties. Though judging by the low moan that escaped the former Gryffindor, it shifted the plug just enough to tease him as much as the sight of Harry dressed in nothing but an oversized sweater and lingerie was teasing Blaise.

"_Your_ minx," Harry corrected breathlessly. Blaise was mesmerized by the continued rolling of Harry's hips. His jumper was rucked up in the back from where he had slipped on the panties and the motion made it seem like he trying to shake it back down without touching it.

Gods, Blaise wanted just bite the curve of Harry's ass that poked out of the high cut of those royal purple panties, to just take the flesh between his teeth and mark his fucking territory. No one would ever see it except for the two of them, but they would both _know_ it was there. They would know that Harry had the outline of Blaise's teeth darkening the dark sienna of his derriere.

Blaise wanted to bite him so badly that he could practically taste it like a vintage wine on his tongue.

And Harry would let him do it, too.

He knew it like he knew the sun would rise.

"_Mine_," Blaise confirmed with a growl that started deep in his chest before filling the air. He continued, because he knew how much the words reassured the little boy inside of his lover that would forever be trapped in a dark cupboard under the stairs in a Muggle house. "_Mine forever and for always_."


	93. Something Old, Something New

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Today, we're marrying our queers. Reminder to readers, when I write Neville as a trans girl/woman, she keeps the name her parents gave her because she lost them so young. (And yes, they're alive, but catatonia is still a type of loss.)

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Inevitable; Gryffindor MC (x3); Magical MC (x3); Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (x3); Ethnic & Present (x2); The 3rd Rule; Lovely Triangle; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo (x2); Gender Bender; Do It for Howard; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Skittles [Lesbian Butch]; Gwen's HP Checklist [Lunar Lion]; In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [938](Something Old, Something New); 365 [45](Cheer); Herbology Club [](); Auction [11-1](Hermione/Neville); Ferragosto [06](Inspiration from an Unusual Place)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [3E](Sacrifice); AU [2C](Different Era); Hunt [Su WD](Asexual); Chim [Kinzie]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man); Ship (n/a)[Su Big](Flowers); TWT (Trans Neville)[Task 1](Dragon); Fire [Med](Sapphic Shades); Garden [RAC 01](Matching Music)**  
Representation(s):** Modern Era; Soulmate AU; Trans Woman Neville/Black Hermione; Desi Harry/Luna/Blaise; Autistic Harry; BC Use  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Mother Hen; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Clio's Conclusion; Three's Company; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Thimble); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (n/a); FR (Satisfaction; Affirmation); O3 (Olivine); HoSE (Schooner); TY (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 553

(^^)  
**Something Old, Something New**  
(^^)

"By the powers vested in me by the county of Lancashire, I declare you married in the eyes of God, the Queen, and all of your loved ones," Harry declared with a huge grin crinkling his brown face. He snapped shut the copy of _The Complete Works of William Shakespeare_ that he had been holding in place of a bible. Leaning slightly forward in a half bow, he continued. "You may now kiss the bride. Just remember that there are old folks in the audience, ladies."

Neville let out a nervous laugh as Hermione pulled her in for their first kiss as spouses. She let Hermione take charge of the kiss, melting into the hold easily. With one last swipe of tongue against the seam of Neville's lips, Hermione pulled back. Her hazel eyes glittered like honey fresh from the hives at Thistlewood Manor, and the love shining from them was just as sweet.

She laughed again just for the joy of it before pressing forward for another brief kiss.

"You're stuck with me now, wife," Hermione told her. Her dark cheeks darkened in what would have been a beacon of a blush in any of the many, many Weasleys in attendance. "Not even death will separate us now."

"You say that as if it's some kind of sacrifice," Neville replied, unable to stop grinning. Her heart felt so full of happiness that she felt like it might burst. The chords that had always haunted her mind was playing within her now. She could hear Hermione's matching ones just as clearly as her own, as was only right for soulmates bound now by the laws of man and magic. "It's really not—I love you so much, and I will love even more tomorrow, and even more than that the day after."

"Well, then," Hermione asked, "ready to face the hoard of our family?"

"With you beside me," Neville answered, "I am ready to face anything. Including Harry's Hungarian Horntail friend."

"And _that's_ the real reason that Neville is braver than I am," Harry commented dryly from right beside them. "That dragon was worse than Umbridge, I swear. You know, Charlie says she still looks for me? Ron will tell everyone all about it. It was in the last version of his Maid of Honor speech. The sooner we finish presenting you two, the sooner we can get to the reception and the speeches."

"You just want to get back to Luna and Blaise," Hermione accused lightly. She didn't take her gaze off of Neville's face. "Don't think I didn't notice how Luna was dressed either."

"What can I say?" Harry quipped. "She has a bit of a crush on this incarnation of the Doctor. I'd be as jealous as Blaise if I couldn't pull of a very good Yasmin. Now stop making goo-goo eyes at each other for, like, five minutes and run down that aisle together. I'm hungry."

"Since you insist," Hermione returned. She squeezed Neville's hand. "Ready for this?"

"More than ready, wife," Neville said. With their hands clasped together, they turned towards their audience. They lifted their arms in victory as the assembled crowd went wild with cheers and shouted blessings.

It was a good day.

For a white wedding or any other color, it was a good day.


	94. Frozen Over

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This is the only way that I see this ship actually happening, but hey, it's the prompt written.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Gryffindor MC (x5); Magical MC (x5); Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [806](No Characters over 18); 365 [15](Appalling); Herbology Club [1-3](Friends); Auction [12-2](James Potter/Bellatrix Black); Ferragosto [05](A Very Cold Day)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [1D](Liberty/Freedom); Hunt [Sp Con](Mashed Potatoes); Chim [Kinzie](Royal Purple); TWT (NB Sirius)[Task 2](Periwinkle); Fire [Hard](Adventure Writer); Garden [Chore List](Arguing/Debating)**  
Representation(s):** Friends as Family; NB Sirius Black; Remus Lupin  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; In the Trench; Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Zucchini Bread; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Fire Song; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail; Negate); O3 (Oust); War (Sanctuary; Ennui)  
**Word Count:** 534

(^^)  
**Frozen Over**

(^^)

It was down right frigid that day. It was so cold that warming charms kept failing, even inside the castle with its wards to keep out the weather and huge fireplaces filled with roaring flames. Snow fell outside on the grounds, but the flakes were tiny and hard. When the wind blasted through the Highlands, those flakes bit into whatever skin someone was foolish enough to have exposed while outside and the stinging would last for hours.

"My mother had a phrase for days like this," Remus muttered as he tried to warm himself over the steam coming off of his steak and mashed potatoes. The carrots had long since given up what little heat they had managed to keep a hold of during the transfer from the serving bowl to his plate. James hummed an acknowledgment, unable to say anything with his face half-submerged in his quickly cooling tea. "She would say that it is so bloody cold because hell had frozen over."

"I think my mother would agree with you," Lily commented from where she was tucked up against Marlene McKinnon. The two fifth-years were sharing a thick woolen shawl that was a deep royal purple with periwinkle tassels. James thought that the color looked really nice with Lily's equally deep red hair.

He quickly gulped down his tea to cover the flushing of his dark brown cheeks. A taste like Remus' toothpaste mixed with the strong black licorice that Sirius loved so much lingered on his tongue. Making a face, he rubbed his tongue against the edge of his teeth in hopes that it would scrape off. He sighed when it didn't.

"Have any of you seen Bellatrix?" James asked suddenly. He sighed wistfully. His breath left him in a visible fog. "Isn't she just the greatest? She's so sweet."

"Sweet?" Sirius asked, raising their head beside Remus. They narrowed their gray eyes suspiciously at James as if they couldn't tell if he was lying or not. "She tried to burn my favorite dress just yesterday!"

"That orange did nothing for you," James replied. He smiled like he just couldn't do anything else. "She really is helpful and kind, isn't she?"

"You think that turquoise and canary yellow go together when it's appalling," Sirius accused, "and you're acting weird."

"I'm not acting weird," James defended as hotly as possible in the very cold Great Hall. "Anyway, have any of you seen Bellatrix?"

"I think she's over at the Slytherin table," Marlene answered haltingly after a moment of them all staring at James in increasing worry. James beamed at her before turning towards the light of his life, the chocolate on his strawberry, the flower in his garden.

"Do you think she's cold, too?" he wondered out loud. "Maybe I should go check!"

"Yeah, um, you do that," Marlene agreed.

James immediately jumped up, abandoning his tea and his friends who were leaning towards each other and exchanging frantic whispers. He didn't care. Bellatrix—his sweet and beloved Bellatrix—awaited. He had to get to her and, and, and just let her know how much she meant to him, how much he loved her.

He would die for her if she asked.


	95. Impossible Things

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** The problem with being childhood best friends with some will always be that they know your mother. In other news, I do not use the imperialist accents that JKR did (because I'm not racist) nor did I not write half this fic in French making it inaccessible to the majority of my readers. Swears, endearments, and titles are not translated, either. Mostly because "little cabbage" just doesn't have the same feel that it does in French. If it looks like a weird misspelling, it is either deliberately untranslated French (the vibe is needed not the translation) or a name. As a final note, I suggest not eating or drinking anything as you read this.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Bonjour-Hi; Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Ravenclaw MC; Beaubatons MC; Durmstrang MC; Magical MC (x5); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x4); Ethnic & Present (x2); Hold the Mayo (x2); Lovely Triangle; Ship Sails; Setting Sail; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog; Bucket Listing; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 02  
**Subject (Task No.):** Audiotory (Task#2: Write about a language barrier.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:**Insane Prompt Challenge [949](Impossible Things); 365 [01](Abhorrent); Herbology Club [IP](Wristwatch); Auction [14-1](Someone Fluent in Another Language)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [4C](Mountain); AU [2D](Pen Pals); Hunt [Su WD](Roma/Romani); Chim [Kinzie]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man); Ship (Brilliant Snitch)[Su Med 1](Best Friend Test); Fire [Hard](Adventure Writer); Garden [HPverse](Durmstrang N/PR)**  
Representation(s):** Chosen Two Seekers; Fleur/Viktor QPR; Desi Harry & Hermione; Polylinguists  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Three's Company; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Intercept); LiCK (Yarrow); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Orator; Olivine); TY (Kulonbozo; Enfant)  
**Word Count:** 1928

(^^)  
**Impossible Things**  
(^^)

Viktor Krum had a plan.

Or at least, he had half a plan.

Actually, to be honest, it was probably only twelve percent of a plan if one was being exceptionally generous in one's consideration. Okay, so maybe he only had the 'pah' part of a plan.

The point was that Viktor knew when he was outclassed, and he was not ashamed to admit that he needed help in this case. Daj would be proud of him for that. She always said he was too hot-headed and likely to attempt to just out stubborn anything that didn't immediately work out the way he wanted.

Still, if he was ever going to convince Hermione Granger to give him the time of day, Viktor had his work cut out for him. A girl as pretty as Hermione probably had many suitors competing for her attention, even if he only ever saw her with the boy that he believed was her brother (given how they were both the same shade of sienna and had a mass of unruly curls, this was likely) until he had shown up in the antechamber as the second Hogwarts champion and now he could only hope that they were not in a relationship. That was before accounting for her fierce intelligence and kind nature. His halting and heavily accented English was simply not enough to communicate everything that he wanted to say to her.

Fortunately, he knew that he had an ally who might be willing to help him. The Delacours and the Krums had often attended similar functions throughout Europe. Their fathers were both ambassadors for their respective countries, after all. As an added bonus among the backwards British wixen, Fleur's veela heritage made her just as much of an outcast as Viktor's Romany heritage did.

"Bonjour, Fleur," Viktor greeted after he managed to catch her leaving the Great Hall. He fiddled nervously with the wristwatch he wore on his right wrist facing downwards. He continued in French that had only the Nice accent of his childhood tutor. (And he ignored the part of him that wanted to gnash his teeth in frustration over his thick, almost incomprehensible Bulgarian accent on his English. The Bulgarian didn't even affect his Romany! It just wasn't fair!) "I would like to ask a small favor, if you have the time."

"For you, ami?" Fleur answered in flawless Parisian French, despite the fact that he _knew_ it was an act. Despite her father's position in the magical side of the French government, both of his daughters had been raised in the hills of Montmartre and had to have elocution lessons to get rid of the associated accent. "I will make the time."

They made their way to one of the numerous abandoned classrooms in the school. Truly, Hogwarts was strange in that regard. There seemed to be more rooms left to gather dust than there were in use. At least it worked out for their needs then.

"What is this favor?" Fleur asked, again in French, as soon as they were squared away in the the privacy of the classroom. This one appeared to have been used for Ancient Runes before its abandonment. "And if you wish to prank anyone like we did the German minister's niece, I want you to know that I am fully aboard and may have begun developing a list of people who need to be taught manners, despite the rumors I've heard about a pair of twins who claim to be _the_ pranksters here and likely to retaliate against anyone else working in their school."

"That would be an interesting challenge to take up if we did not have this tournament," Viktor admitted, still in French. "But not right now. There is always time to work through your lesson plans later. Now I need you to help me fix my English."

"Oh, ma déesse," Fleur cursed in a low, breathless voice, "do not tell me that you have fallen for one of these abhorrent people!" As if to emphasis her point, she began repeating it in French sign language with gestures as sharp as her tongue. "They do not even know how to properly cook, chouchou! I have not seen a single piece of meat in this drafty pile of rocks that has not been burnt to a crisp!"

"You don't even eat meat," Viktor protested, mirroring the use of simultaneous sign just like Fleur had. "You're a vegetarian!"

"It's the principle of the matter!" Fleur screeched, throwing her arms up. "The protein they offer would not be worth it even if I did eat meat!"

"I hope you end up with a carnivore!" Viktor returned. Fleur gasped like she had just been hit with a strong Stinging Hex. Her delicate hands came up to clutch at the loose fabric of her robe between her breasts.

"_How dare you_," she said. The offense she felt was clear in her melodious voice. "You take that back this instant!"

"Or you'll do _what_, princesse?" Viktor asked just to needle her. Fleur growled at him, her face flushing as she began to visibly glow with her anger. She even went so far as to stomp her foot like she used to when they were six. Then it all dissipated like the morning fog as the sun rose and she smiled sweetly at him. His stomach felt like he had just started a dive on his broom, and he had no idea how to pull safely out of it. His French came out softened around the edges with Bulgarian inflections. "What are you planning, princesse?"

"I will write to Tante Jaelle," Fleur said just as sweetly as she was still smiling. Viktor felt like he had just crashed instead of managing to pull out in time. Just to prove her point, Fleur switched to lightly accented Romany as she continued. "I'm sure that your mother would be quite displeased to hear that you are picking on poor, helpless me."

"You're as helpless as a nesting dragon," Viktor countered weakly in the same language. She smiled toothily at him.

"And you should remember what happened last time you faced one of those, chouchou," she said, switching back to French. She brushed imaginary lint off her robe, clearly appeased by his obvious fear of her carrying tales to his mother. Fleur clapped her hands once and shook them out to the sides, dismissing the topic entirely. "Now, about your problem. I am uncertain what results you think I can achieve that your tutor has not been able to pull out of you. If this person would truly think so little of your inability to speak their tongue flawlessly, I do not think they are worthy of your affection."

"Hermione will not care," Viktor explained desperately. "But I want her to be able to understand my meaning without struggle. She deserves to know just how precious she is."

At that exact moment, someone stumbled into the room. Or rather it was two people stumbling into the room because they were kissing desperately like they would die if they took their lips off each other and a third person doing her best to keep them from tripping over things. Viktor instantly recognized them. The two desperately kissing were the Hogwarts champions while the girl who was guiding them was the same one Viktor had believed was Diggory's girlfriend—and maybe that was true, given how comfortable she was touching the older boy while her hands were more exploring over Potter.

"As entertaining as zhis is," Fleur said in English, causing the trio to spring apart guiltily, "zhis room is occupied currently." She looked at Viktor for a long moment as if measuring something. He recognized her plotting expression just in time for her to turn back towards the invaders. "Actually, you may be 'elpful, M. Potter. You are friends with Mlle. Granger, no?"

Unconsciously, Fleur had continued to signing as she spoke. She had a tendency to do that, brought up as she was on the host of international events which often required such accommodation. Viktor hadn't been expecting the recognition that Potter seemed to have of the language. Not many of the British wixen knew any kind of sign language let alone a foreign sign language.

"Hermione's my best friend," Potter confirmed, matching his words with hesitant French sign. The motions were a bit jerky with the same tension running through his voice. It was like he was expecting that he would need to defend the friendship. Given what he knew about the backward prejudices of the British wixen, Viktor wouldn't have been surprised if Potter had actually needed to more than once. "What of it?"

"I zhink my idiot friend likes 'er," Fleur said boldly. Viktor hissed in alarm, not caring that he sounded like his mother's cat when someone accidentally stepped on his tail. Potter glanced at him before focusing back on Fleur's hands. "He called 'er _precious_ just a moment before you rudely interrupted us."

"Precious, huh?" Potter asked. His suspicion gave an edge to both his voice and his gestures. His green eyes track over Viktor like he was trying to decide if he was worthy of his friend. Then Potter looked back at Fleur. "What's the problem, then?"

"Ze idiot part of him," Fleur admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed by the admission. Which was not fair. He was not being irrational to worry about his accent! It was perfectly logical! His English came out like he had gargled the words with glass. It was horrid and hard to understand! "He zhinks she will not understand him because of his accent."

That measuring gaze came back again. Viktor did not tend to be intimidated by much. He understood his skills and talents too well to feel that kind of doubt. However, he felt very much like he would rather be facing that nesting mother dragon again than in this classroom before the best friend of the witch he was crushing on. Viktor nervously fiddled with his wristwatch again.

"Hermione's been teaching me French," Potter said finally. "Because she's desperate for someone to practice with, you see." He shrugged. "If you're concerned about the accent getting in the way if you speak in English, you could probably just talk to her in French." Potter gave a small grin, similar to Fleur's plotting smile. "You could even offer to teach her Bulgarian. Hermione loves languages and learning new things."

"Hermione speaks French?" Viktor asked, too surprised to wince at the thick Bulgarian accent on the question. Potter's grin grew just the tiniest bit. It was like he knew a secret that he wasn't supposed to or that no one expected him to know.

"Her family takes a trip to Nice every summer," Potter supplied. Viktor felt a bit dazed by that information, like someone had just hit him on the forehead with a jeweler's hammer. "She _really likes_ the local accent there."

"See?" Fleur asked when Viktor could do nothing but stare into space after receiving that piece of information. "I love him dearly, but Viktor is an idiot."

"That's okay," Potter reassured her easily. "Hermione will get him sorted out. She's good at it actually."

Even with the realization that the language barrier he had believed to be between him and Hermione not actually existing, Viktor couldn't help feeling like he was about to catch the Snitch at another Quidditch Cup. Perhaps this time, he might even win the game.

After all, nothing seemed impossible at the moment.


	96. Food of Love

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** I love these two so freaking much.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Bonjour-Hi; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x2); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present (x2); The 3rd Rule; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender (x2); Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Sentinel; Skittles [Lesbian Femme]; Gwen's HP Checklist [Noticed Abuse]; In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Floristry (Task#3: Write a fic with one of the following themes: Deep/pure love, _Affection_, Admiration, Good luck.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [546](Purple); 365 [294](Stories); Herbology Club [3-1](Iktsuarpok); Auction [15-3](Genderbent); Back to School Shopping [Other Equipment](Breakable); Tell a Joke Day [03](Dialogue); Pinata [Hard](Femslash)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [2B](Zoo); AU [2B](Sentinel/Guide); Hunt [Sp Con](Water); Chim [Kinzie](Royal Purple); Ship (Heroic Shadow)[Sp Med 2](Curry); Fire [Hard](Adventure Writer); Garden [Garden Tools](Sundress)**  
Representation(s):** Sentinel Blaise/Guide Harry; Fem Blaise & Harry; Desi Harry; Autistic Harry  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Abandoned Ship; Surprise!; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Clio's Conclusion; Lock & Key; Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Terrarium); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Oath); HoSE (Schooner); TY (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 929

(^^)  
**Food of Love**  
(^^)

Harini let herself bounce in place as she waited for Blaise to come back from the crowded restaurant nearby. She was still relearning how to stim, especially the bigger versions that were easily noticeable by others. Out of a habit that the Dursleys beat into her, she glanced around the area to see if anyone was watching. Despite the busy-ness of the large space, the only person who appeared to be watching her bounce on her toes was a baby in a stroller who gave a gummy grin when Harini made eye contact with them. When Harini gave a little wave of her brown fingers at the infant, they burst into giggles and clapped their hands.

Excited to share the wonder, Harini checked to see if she could spot her sentinel returning to her yet. No matter how distinctive Blaise might have been in the crimson sundress she had chosen for the day, Harini didn't spot her among the crowd. Harini frowned a bit but didn't leave her spot. Her fingers ran over the embroidered water lily stitched in the fabric of her royal purple kurta at her hip. The bumpy but smooth pattern helped soothe her nerves about the separation enough that after a moment, she returned to her bouncing.

The couple had decided to spend Harini's birthday at the zoo. Or rather, Blaise had decided that they were going to create better memories of a zoo after she had learned about Harini's first and only trip. The morning had been filled with fun exploration of three fairly sizable sections before they had headed towards the last and largest section where the animals from the African continent were housed. Being so large (and also new), that section was a long walk away from the clustered sections towards the front of the zoo.

By the time, they had reached the main hub of the section, they were both hot, sweaty, and hungry. Blaise had generously offered to be the one to duck into the busy restaurant to get a selection of the dishes creating divine smells that spilled out of the restaurant while Harini refilled their water bottles from the public spigot offered right beside the water fountain just for that purpose. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Blaise to return with their lunch.

In the enclosure that she was in front of, one of the meerkats poked its head out the burrow before scurrying out even farther. Then standing on top of the mound that made up its home, the meerkat began bouncing in place as well. Curious as to how the adorable animal would respond, Harini varied her speed and pattern. The little rodent matched her rhythm and speed.

"Made a friend?" Blaise asked once she had returned. Harini spun to face her grinning bondmate. Instinctively, she let her senses stretch so that she could run her empathetic touch over Blaise to ascertain that she was still well, despite their brief time apart. She would be embarrassed by the insecure reaction, except she knew for a fact that her sentinel was doing the same with her own enhanced senses. Blaise leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. "Gonna run off with your new sweetheart?"

"We're just bouncing together," Harini told her before sniffing the air deeply. The spicy scent of vegetables made her mouth water. "Oh, my god. What is that smell?"

"They sell African curries," Blaise explained as she handed over one of the bowls of steaming food. Harini took it easily and immediately lifted it to her face to better inhale the aroma that was making her mouth water. Harini's eyes slid shut in pleasure as she delighted in the anticipation of being allowed to eat the deliciousness she now held. "I made sure to get a vegetarian one for you."

"You remembered," Harini breathed, her eyes flying back open to stare at Blaise who was watching Harini with a particularly intense look in her dark purple eyes.

They hadn't been matched for very long, since they both had come online during the chaos of the final battle which was only a few months ago now. It had been the instincts that came along with their abilities which had latched onto each other. Forged in the heat of battle as it had been, the bond was not breakable without risking one or both of their lives.

They were still getting to know each other beyond the stories that others told about them. Harini's tentatively expressed wish to reconnect with the Hinduism of her parents, particularly her father, had been one of the many late-night confessions made when one of them had woken the other with nightmares from the war. She had thought that Blaise might have already fallen asleep when she had said it.

"I remember everything about you," Blaise confessed softly. "I do not think it is coincidence that we came online at the same time nor do I believe it was a coincidence that our instincts guided us towards each other."

"Coincidences are spiritual puns," Harini quipped, repeating what Luna had once said to her. Like many things the blonde said, it only made sense in hindsight. "Maybe the gods think they're being funny."

"I think I'm beginning to like their humor," Blaise agreed. She gestured towards the food that Harini was still holding near her face. "Eat. Before it gets cold. Neither of us knows if it will be any good cold."

Harini grinned before tucking into the food.

It tasted just as good as it smelled.


	97. Dealing with a Demon

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** This is the very lightest of crossovers. Mostly because when I figured out that Walburga was going to summon a demon to make a deal, my brain went "Crowley would annoy her the most". So even though she never gets their name nor does she bother being polite enough to give them the basic courtesy one would a cat on the street, that is who the demon in this fic is supposed to be. You can still read it without knowing anything about Good Omens though, because going "generic demon" works, too.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Slytherin MC; Magical MC; Immortal MC; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ship Sails; Red Era; Old Shoes (Y); New Fandom Smell (Y); Omens; Divinity; Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Calligraphy (Task#9: Write about someone wanting or trying for a child.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [615](Incensed); 365 [203](Measure); Herbology Club [1-7](Enemies); Auction [17-4]("When I want something, nothing's getting in my way to get it."); Back to School Shopping [Other Equipment](Choice); Tell a Joke Day [08](Someone Being Disrespectful)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [2D](Hail); AU [5D](Angel/Demon); Hunt [Su Items](Book); Chim [Kinzie](Royal Purple); TWT (Crowley)[Task 3](Gray); Fire [Hard](Adventure Writer); Garden [Crossover Galore](Book)**  
Representation(s):** Walburga Black; Crowley (Good Omens)  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Most Human Bean; Muck & Slime; Rock of Ages; Head of Perseus; Surprise!; Surprise (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; White Dress; Mother Hen; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Pear-Shaped; Bee Haven; Peddling Pots; Fire Song; Tomorrow's Shade; A Long Dog; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** O3 (Orator; Oath)  
**Word Count:** 1801

(^^)  
**Dealing with a Demon**  
(^^)

Walburga Black was a formidable woman. She had always known what she wanted, and nothing ever came between her and her goals for very long. She was a powerful witch, too. So when she set her sights on her cousin Orion (and the prestige that would come with being his wife), she knew that she would have him, regardless of what their parents had arranged for both of them.

By the time her parents had known about Walburga's plans to bond with Orion, it was already too late to stop her. The deed had been done. Their parents had only two choices: accept the bonding or pass over the current heir to the House of Black.

They had a few other options for an heir, of course—the Blacks were nothing if not prepared for many contingencies—but not even the strongest of lust potions would be able to convince Lycoris or Alphard to bed a woman, Regulus had been rendered infertile by a bout of Pixie Fever as a boy, and her brother Cygnus was not yet graduated from Hogwarts. The current head of the House was not young even if he was not as old as other lords that was his peers. If the last few decades had taught any of them anything it was that death could come in an instant and one must have their Houses' affairs in order.

Of course, that didn't mean that it had been easy to convince Orion to forgive her little trickery. It had taken a few years to find the right combination of things for Orion to get over his squeamishness about the idea of having martial relations with her. She couldn't just use Amortentia either, as the entirety of the Black family had a curse of them which prevented conception while one of the potential parents was under the influence of any love potion. Without being able to produce an heir, Orion would be passed over no matter how much their parents had previously refused to do so.

As it was, she needed to produce at least one male child quickly. Cygnus was already matched with the Rosier heiress. Unlike many pure-blood bloodlines, the Rosiers were known for their fertility and hardy babes. They were not the Prewetts or the Weasleys, but having three or four children were not uncommon for them either.

Which meant that she needed Orion to stop whining like a child and do his duty as her husband.

Fortunately, she was nothing if not adaptable. If Orion would not come to her willingly and she could not use a love potion to make him more receptive to her advances, then Walburga would just find another way of making him accommodate whatever she needed for her plans to be successful. There were more than one way to skin a dragon, after all. One just needed to be a bit creative at times.

She found the ritual in an old book that had the look of the Bones library. The leather was dried and cracked in places and the parchment making up the pages was not in any better shape. Sections of the writing was faded almost completely away while other sections had been deliberately obscured with layers of wards and other spell work. That was the problem with expanding the Black library in the manner they tended to: sometimes the books were resistant to the change in ownership.

To further aggravate her, the writing that was visible was not a proper language. It was not even truly a human language. It was that disgusting concoction that the Bones and the McKinnons jabbered on with like they couldn't be bothered to respect the traditions and language of the British purebloods they were supposed to be. Walburga nearly set tossed the entire book in the fireplace right then, sure that those uneducated beasts could not truly had anything of use to her, but the text yielded its secrets with a simple translation charm.

The rite was simple. The trickiest part was actually laying her hands on fresh eggshell from a phoenix no more than three burnings old. Walburga knew very few sources of anything related to phoenixes. The creatures themselves were elusive enough that humans rarely had the opportunity to connect with them enough to have access to their parts. The Ollivanders had a source for the feathers they used in their wands, but that was hardly interchangeable with eggshells.

But she managed to track down an old ally of Grindelwald who had saved some pieces of shell from a phoenix's first hatching. It wasn't much, but it was _enough_ to do the ritual.

The demon which appeared was _disappointing_ to say the least. Walburga could not tell if the demon was male or female. The way it dressed did nothing to help either as it had paired charcoal trousers with a dark purple blouse and a waistcoat of pale gray. Piercing green eyes swept across the ritual space, pausing ever so slightly on the glyphs on each wall to keep it trapped in the room until it gave her want she wanted. It flicked its ruby red hair over its shoulder as it gave a low hum.

"This is not the sort of dungeon I usually end up at," the demon said as it focused back on her. It smiled at her just as she noticed that its pupils were like those of a snake. Its features were also vaguely reptilian. A strange sigil had been burned or tattooed on its right jaw, close to its hairline. "You've done a good deal of research. You're certainly prepared for _something_."

"I bind you, foul beast," Walburga told it firmly. It blinked at her as if in surprise. "I command you to—"

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," it interrupted her. This time, Walburga blinked in confusion. The demon gave her a gentle expression that would have been kind if it had not also been annoyingly patronizing. "I'm not the sort of demon who normally do these things. I'm not the type to—" The demon gave another thoughtful hum before continuing. " Oh, let's just say that demon deals are not really my area of expertise. I'm more of a mild mayhem and general chaos sort of demon. I honestly don't know how you ended up summoning me. Must have been a misdial of some sort."

"Be silent, vile creature," Walburga commanded. "Now as I was about to say—"

"Well, that's just rude," the demon interrupted _again_. Walburga held onto her temper by the edges of her fingernails. Her jaw hurt from how hard she was clenching her teeth together. "There really isn't any need for name-calling. I'm just letting you know that I may not be able to help you. My powers are rather limited under most circumstances."

"All I need is for my husband to sleep with me enough to beget a son," Walburga snapped as she reached the end of her patience. The demon looked a bit surprised but otherwise, it held its tongue. "Preferably _two_. Surely that is within your abilities?"

"It is," the demon said as if measuring the words as carefully as any potion-maker would ingredients. Its emerald gaze drifted over her in an equally measuring way. "You appear to be an aesthetically pleasing specimen of your kind. What exactly is the issue?"

"He didn't want to marry me," Walburga admitted reluctantly. Some inner sense of caution whispered a warning that this entity would not take kindly to learning she had been the one to trap Orion. "Now that we have wedded, our only choice for children are each other. "When I want something, nothing's getting in my way to get it. And what I want is simple in this case. All I want is two sons. "

"An heir and a spare, eh?" the demon asked. It rubbed its chin with its left hand. Wrapping her mental shields tightly around her mind, she met its gaze full on. Silence grew thick and heavy between them, broken only by the crackle of the braziers lighting the space. "There's something you're not telling me, but I'm not going to press. Mainly because I've got dinner plans."

It gave a taunting grin that showed off a set of snake-like fangs threateningly. Alarmingly, the demon stepped out of the summoning circle as if the binding runes were not even there and began circling the room. Walburga's heart began to pound as it never had in the past, no matter how many duels she had fought or plots she chased.

"That," the demon continued as if Walburga was not suddenly terrified, "and I think this is going to be _hilarious_. You'll get your two sons, because I'm nothing if not generous, but you'll never have more than that and your husband, whoever the unfortunate soul is, will never love you." The demon tapped one of the painted runes. "This one should have been a touch sharper on the edges. Then it might have held me for at least a few hours. Of course, then you'd have to deal with my angel when he came looking for me after I was late. So it's all for the best, really."

She scoffed despite her fear. The demon rolled its eyes.

"Humans," it said, clearly annoyed now. "Because I'm _nice_, I'm going to give you a warning that you can listen to or pay the consequences. Treasure your children beyond all measure. If they ever, for even one moment, feel like you do not love them, I will return to the Pit for the specific purpose of tormenting you." Its face was harder than the stones that made up Hogwarts as a snarl twisted its features. "And I will relish every moment of it. Do you understand, mortal? _Love them beyond all reason or I will make you regret it_."

"Got it," Walburga answered. Best to pretend the dull beast actually had the power over her soul after she died. Maybe once it had been appeased, it would leave her alone. The demon glared at her but seemed to accept that she understood and agreed to what it had declared. She waved her hand in obvious dismissal. "You may go now."

"Oh, I'll enjoy meeting you again," the demon promised before wiggling his fingers at her before disappearing without a trace.

Walburga stomped her foot in frustration. The damn demon didn't even bother casting any magic! She really did have to do everything herself, didn't she?

Oh, well. She was a powerful witch. She would handle it just like she should have from the very start.

And damn any demon who thought they could lay claim to her soul when she had to do all the work herself.


	98. Who Watches Over You

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Have I mentioned lately that I love these two? Also, mazing (repeating words/phrases) is a type of stuttering. Specifically, it's the more common type, especially if the cause is anxiety or nerves. And yes, that's the phrase that me & my friend group uses for "I know it's not real but my anxiety is screaming". We use it like a mantra.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Inevitable; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Writing with Music; Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x2); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present (x2); The 3rd Rule; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Do It For Howard; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Skittles [Bi Butch]; In a Flash; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** Healer Studies (Task#2: Write about someone who stutters.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [516](Hurt/Comfort); 365 [07](Adoring); Herbology Club [4-5](Relaxing); Auction [13-3](Indian Tacos); Back to School Shopping [Uniform](Daily); Tell a Joke Day [06](Someone Traveling)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [3A](Cookout); Hunt [Su Con](Indian Tacos); Chim [Kinzie](Hurt/Comfort); Ship (Heroic Shadow)[Sp Med 2](Indian Tacos); Fire [Med](Sapphic Shades); Garden [Rose Types](Who Watches Over You)**  
Representation(s):** Desi & Autistic Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; Always Fem Harry & Blaise  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Clio's Conclusion; Lock & Key; Deadliest Catch; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Delicious Lie; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Tether); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Oath); TY (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 983

(^^)  
**Who Watches Over You**  
(^^)

Harini tore apart her frybread with unabashed delight while on the bench beside her, Blaise watched with a bemused expression on her face. Undeterred, Harini used a section of frybread to scoop up a bite of meatless chili before popping it into her mouth. A forkful of the lettuce, chopped onions, and diced tomatoes that had been mixed with the spicy salsa and sour cream followed. Harini hummed in delight as she continued eating what had to be one of the best things she had ever tasted.

"I've never seen Indian tacos eaten with such pleasure," Blaise confessed. Harini felt her cheeks heat in sudden embarrassment. Blaise hurried on to reassure her girlfriend. "It is nothing to be ashamed about, love. I adore watching you discover new sources of pleasure. I especially enjoy watching you eat. I must admit that I had never thought that would be a source of enjoyment, but—"

"Yeah," Harini agreed, happy that Blaise had decided to not mention the names of any Dursley on their trip. As it was, she felt her interest in eating wane despite how her hunger lingered as did her desire to devour the delicious food. She began mixing her salad into the chili. Blaise frowned just slightly, and Harini couldn't stand looking any longer. Instead, she focused on the food on the paper plate in front of her.

Blaise laid her own hand over the one Harini was using to hold her fork. Harini couldn't help the aborted flinch. Her stomach soured even more at the thought of how unfair she was being to Blaise. The other girl had never shown any inclination to do anything that might hurt Harini. She didn't even seem to have the same rough and tumble type of affection that Harini had grown familiar with thanks to Hermione and the Weasleys.

Yet Harini couldn't control herself enough not to flinch? When would Blaise get tired of Harini not trusting her and decide she's not worth the effort? What would Harini do when that inevitably happened?

"Shh, love," Blaise soothed with the same gentleness she always used with Harini. Carefully, she pried the plastic fork out of Harini's hand. Then she transfers the fork to her other hand before interlacing her dark brown fingers with Harini's lighter brown ones. "Whatever your anxiety is screaming about now doesn't matter nearly as much as your anxiety thinks it does. Take a deep breath and tell me what we're supposed to remember about it?"

"Anxiety is—Anxiety is a lying liar who—who lies," Harini answered dutifully after taking her breath. She shivered despite the heat of the day. Blaise stroked her thumb over the backs of Harini's knuckles. After taking another deep breath, Harini repeated the phrase, trying to focus more on getting the words out without the stuttering than the way her stomach was twisting. "Anxiety is—anxiety is a lying liar who lies."

"Better," Blaise praised. She raised their joined hands so that she could press a chaste kiss to the back of Harini's. "One more should do it, love."

"Anxiety is a lying liar who lies," Harini managed. She let out a gusty sigh in relief before smiling goofily at her girlfriend. "Anxiety is a lying liar who lies."

"Yes, it is," Blaise agreed. Harini frowned as one of the anxious thoughts intruded again.

"I don't know why it's all suddenly happening," Harini fretted, feeling suddenly close to tears. "This has—has never been a problem before."

"And I will continue to take that as the compliment it is," Blaise promised. Harini tilted her head to the side. The corner of Blaise's eyes crinkled as she smiled. Setting down the plastic fork, she brushed her knuckles against Harini's cheek. "You feel safe enough to process what those monsters did. How could that be anything except a compliment, my love?"

"You do," Harini told her, because it seemed very important that Blaise knew that all of a sudden. "You do make me feel safe. You make me feel like I'm worth something—Like, like, like I'm precious."

Blaise clenched her jaw for a moment. Her purple eyes glittered with a hint of the rage she suppressed whenever Harini hinted at the way the Dursleys had always made her feel. Despite how most expressions of anger made Harini feel, some secret part of her felt a little vindicated whenever she saw Blaise getting angry on her behalf.

"You are precious," Blaise stated as if it were a simple fact rather than just her very biased opinion. "You are so precious that a price could never be determined. You are my treasure, and I shall guard you as a dragon does her nest."

"Not her territory?" Harini teased with a watery smile. Blaise had a way of making her feel overwhelmed in all the best ways. "Maybe I need, need the reminder that I'm yours, you know."

Blaise turned her hand so that she was cupping Harini's cheek. She leaned in to press a kiss gently to Harini's forehead, followed by one to each of Harini's eyelids and cheeks. Finally, she lingered over the one to Harini's slightly chapped lips.

"If you need the reminder of my love," Blaise whispered there like it was a secret between just the two of them, "then I will make certain to do so at least twice daily. You deserve to never doubt how much you mean to me. You are my world, my universe. My heart beats for no other, not even myself. You have become as the first blooms of spring in the bleak winter of my life."

"Flatterer," Harini accused before pressing up into another kiss. She felt Blaise smile. Even with all the headaches and stress that came about with this little tour of the world and its many, many cuisines, Harini thought the moments like this were worth it.


	99. Crimson Tides

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** So this is pure self-indulgent setup because I want to do nothing but lounge in a blanket nest while someone brings me tea & cookies.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Slytherin MC (x2); Magical MC (x2) (Y x1); Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present; The 3rd Rule (Y); Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Do It For Howard; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Aces Wild [Sleeping Together]; Skittles [Pan Butch] (Y); Short Jog (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift (Y)  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [563](Tea); 365 [210](Mouth-watering); Herbology Club [4-4]("I'm not pregnant."); Auction [20-3](Daphne Greengrass); Pinata [Hard](Femslash)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [2E](Lake); Hunt [Su WD](Pagan); Chim [Kinzie](Royal Purple); Ship (Emeralds)[Sp Med 1](Admiring the View); Fire [Med](Sapphic Shades); Garden [Plant Food](Seeds/Nuts)**  
Representation(s):** Black Tracey Davis/Daphne Greengrass; PCOS Tracey Davis  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Abandoned Ship; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Teat Juice; Nightingale; Clio's Conclusion; Lock & Key; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Delicious Lie; Fire Song; Larger than Life; Unicorn); Demo 1 (Fruit Fly; Under the Bridge; Sweetest Burn); Demo 2 (Sitting Hummingbird; Gingersnap)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Intercept); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); TY (n/a)  
**Word Count:** 1296

(^^)  
**Crimson Tides**  
(^^)

Daphne woke up to Tracey groaning in her sleep. While nightmares were common for both of them, the pitch of the sounds coming from Tracey weren't her normal ones for nightmares. Then Daphne noticed the way Tracey had an arm curled protectively across her lower stomach. Like the flash of spell fire, Daphne knew exactly what was going on as well as how little she could ultimately do to stop the underlying problem.

There was plenty of things she could do to help manage the symptoms, though.

Of course, the fact that Tracey had started her period meant that Daphne's period would also be starting within a few days. Even before Daphne had stolen Tracey through the same old magics which had given her abusive father so much power over her, their periods had synchronized. The magical bond they now shared had only strengthened that as had their shared flat after Hogwarts.

(Pansy had once bitched about how her period would always sync up with theirs during the school year. When Daphne had told her that meant they were the dominant presences in the dorm, Pansy had turned a rather ugly shade of splotchy red. She hadn't complained about it again for the rest of their years at Hogwarts.)

Carefully, Daphne unwrapped herself from around Tracey. She didn't want to wake Tracey any sooner than she already would be waking. The cramps that Tracey always experienced would mean that she wouldn't be getting much sleep over the next few days and what little sleep she could manage would be tainted with the pain.

Her first stop after taking care of business in the bathroom was to their little kitchen. The first thing that Daphne did was to put the kettle on to start heating. Not only would they both want tea, but Tracey would need the water heated for her hot water bottle. Charms worked adequately for keeping the water heated, but trying to use magic to heat it was tricky and made the magic keeping it hot fade. It was just easier to not use magic to heat the water once.

Daphne then slipped down the hall to the linen closet and began pulling out the extra blankets they saved just for this time of the month or when one of them was ill. Once her arms were loaded up, she went to their living room to begin making the nest that both of them would want. It took less than ten minutes to get everything set up the way she wanted.

By that time, the kettle had started whistling. Daphne turned off the heat as she prepared their purple teapot (a housewarming gift from Blaise's partner Harry who shared Tracey's love of all things purple) with a few scoops of their favorite blend of catnip and lavender. She poured the water over the leaves and left it to seep as she pulled out their cookie tin.

Luckily, Harry had brought over a new batch of his chocolate covered blackberry jammy dodgers just that past weekend. He had also brought over his version of sausalito cookies as well. The chocolate chunks were dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and in addition to the macadamia nuts, there was dried blueberries and dried cranberries. He also mixed in some oats into the dough. The result was a cookie that not only tasted absolutely divine but also was a great source of energy both from the sweetness of chocolate and fruit and in the protein of the nuts and oats.

The little Gryffindor was a constant source of surprisingly good recipes. Before she had gotten to know him, she would not have thought that. The only person in their year at Hogwarts who had had more accidents in Potions class had been Longbottom who was an absolute menace around a cauldron.

(Not that she held him at fault for that. Everyone knew the Longbottoms enhanced any plant-based ingredients they touched while the Diores could do the same with animal-based ingredients. If Snape had actually knew anything about potions beyond what was required to gain a NEWT or had been interested in actually teaching anything, there would have been steps taken to mitigate that aspect.)

Daphne finished artfully arranging the cookie selection on a plate just as the larkspur blossom on the teapot faded from purple to a pale blue. Not a moment later, the fat bumblebee that sat in the middle of the blossom buzzed happily, just like a real bumblebee would have. The charmed decoration was another thoughtful addition from Harry. It would only active when the tea had seeped the correct about of time. With a stroke of her fingertip over the back of the bee, she activated the charm to remove the tea leaves from the pot and vanish them without any need to mess with them directly.

She added the rest of the necessary additives to the tea tray, including each of their favorite mugs and spoons for stirring, and then levitated the tray to take it to the side table near the nest in the living room. She would have carried it but as loaded as it was, it would be easier to balance it with magic than trying to do so by hand. Tea taken care of, Daphne then makes quick work of feeling the hot water bottle that belonged to Tracey. Leaving the purple bottle in the nest on the side that Tracey will inevitably choose, Daphne finally returned to the bedroom to go check on her wife.

Tracey was beginning to wake up now. She had uncurled and partially rolled over onto her back. The purple camisole she had worn to be had shifted away from her purple sleep-shorts to show off the pale markings that covered her side and stomach like lightning from an unseen cloud. The lines shone against the dark brown of Tracey's skin. They would be extra sensitive for the next week or so, as Daphne knew from experience, and as soon as their periods had passed, she would be taking full advantage of that knowledge, too.

But for now, Daphne took just a moment to enjoy the mouth-watering view of her wife stretched out like an offering.

Tracey blinked open her eyes. The pale greenish gold color was hazy with lingering sleepiness as much as pain. They still lit up along with the rest of Tracey's face as they landed on Daphne. She swallowed around a sudden lump in her throat as just how much she loved the other woman hit her just as hard as it always did.

"Hurts," Tracey muttered, the edges of the word slurred soft with sleep. She lifted one hand to her forehead in order to shove her curls off of it. Daphne drifted closer, unable to stay away. "At least we know that I'm not pregnant." Her smile was as weak as the attempt at humor. "Do we have any of Harry's cookies?"

"Yes," Daphne told her as she settled on the bed near Tracey's hip. She brushed her fingers lightly over the exposed skin of Tracey's stomach. Tracey shivered but didn't complain. "I've got everything made up in the living room, including a full tea tray with your favorites of Harry's cookies. I thought maybe we could binge that new show you and Harry have been watching."

"That's a good idea," Tracey said as she sat up. "You'll love Teyla. I just know it."

"I'm sure you're right," Daphne agreed easily. "You do know my type, after all."

"That's because you have good taste," Tracey teased before getting up properly. Watching as Tracey left to do her own morning routine, Daphne couldn't help but think that Tracey was perhaps the best thing Daphne had ever chosen for herself.


	100. On the High Seas

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. The narrator is a bigoted piece of shit and it shows. There's also implied character deaths all over the place. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** I was given a Nazi as a prompt. I also needed to write a Pirate AU. So here's Snape getting marooned. And since I'm on a kick, have some Fem James Potter who is very historically inaccurately still married to Captain Lily Evans.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Beauty of the Abstract; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC (x3); Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x4); Criminal MC (x4); Rowl in Her Grave (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present; Disabled; The 3rd Rule; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Do It For Howard; Buzzy Era; Old Shoes (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Gwen's HP Checklist [Snape Called Out]; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [764](Pirate); 365 [167](Intense); Herbology Club [2-5]("Don't worry; this blood isn't mine"); Auction [21-4](Severus Snape); Back to School Shopping [Books]("You've changed"); Tell a Joke Day [02](An Unexpected Visitor); Pinata [Hard](Femslash)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **Su Bingo [5C](Dust); AU [3A](Pirate); Hunt [Su WD](Mobility Impaired); Chim [Kinzie]("Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man); Ship (Thorns)[Sp Big](Boots); TWT (NB Sirius; Dumbledore Era-ish)[Task 4](Green); Fire [Med](Sapphic Shades); Garden [Bed Types](Sea/Ocean)**  
Representation(s):** Severus Snape; Caribbean James Potter/Lily Evans Potter; NB Sirius Black; Marauders are Pirates; Different Era  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Grease Monkey; Lyre Liar; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Surprise!; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Car in a Tutu; Clio's Conclusion; For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn); Demo 1 (Triton's Domain; Under the Bridge); Demo 2 (Call Me Dantes; Toto's Tribute; Sitting Hummingbird)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Intercept); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Oust); War (Monomania; Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (Kulonbozo)  
**Word Count:** 1238

(^^)  
**On the High Seas**  
(^^)

The ship pitched under them, as if the sea itself was upset with the events happening on her surface. Severus Snape could barely keep his footing as the battle raged around him. He wished he had never taken this blasted journey. He should have just gone to the Continent when he fled the hangman's noose or the executioner's ax. Devil take it all, perhaps his enemies would not have been so kind if they had caught him. Perhaps they would have had him take poison like some bloody damsel in a Elizabethan stage play who had just discovered her lover dead beside her.

People were so sensitive about a little thing like betrayal. All he had done was simply what was necessary to protect his interests. Yes, he had traded secrets, and yes, people had been hurt—even killed in a variety of gruesome and torturous ways—but that really wasn't any reason to be as upset as they had become. A man had to protect himself, for if he did not, then who would bother?

To make matters even worse, Severus didn't even have the opportunity to console his beloved Lily after she had become a widow due to the untimely death of that damnable bitch Jamillia Potter. And why not? Because someone had tipped off the couple before the Dark Lord's forces could descend upon their quaint, little cottage, thereby succeeding in securing said untimely demise!

In a string of truly rotten luck, someone had leaked who had informed the Dark Lord of not only the snippet of prophecy that led to the Dark Lord seeking to attack the Potters, but also who had convinced Peter Pettigrew to part with the whereabouts of the Potters' hiding place. Next thing Severus had known was that the entirety of England was hunting him down. His only hope had been to flee the country entirely.

And now, they were beset by _pirates_.

Severus managed to squeeze into a hidden nook between one of the steps to the captain's deck and the railing. It was a tight fit for his lanky form, but he made it work. Immediately, his nose started twitching from the amount of dust that was in the space.

After a while, the sounds of the pitched battle faded into nothing. Footsteps thundered on the stairs above him. Judging on the shouts being exchanged, the pirates had been victorious and were now searching the ship for stowaways. Severus just needed to wait them out and hope they didn't sink the ship.

Just when he thought that he was going to be fine, the dust became too much. Severus let out a very loud sneeze like a canon's blast. Within short order, he had be roughly yanked from his safe spot. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision of the multiple spots of colors which filled it.

The first thing he saw was his beloved Lily. She was dressed in tight trousers that were tucked into a pair of boots that came up to her thighs and a billowy shirt that might have been a white as pure as freshly fallen snow at one point. Now it was stained with blood. Poetically, it now matched her long hair which danced in the sea wind around her like the flames of hell itself. Her emerald eyes focused on him with a rage so intense that Severus could practically feel it burning him.

"I think he's worried about the blood, love," Jamillia Potter declared from the deck above. The good-for-nothing bitch of a woman was sitting on the railing of the captain's deck with her legs dangling freely towards them. Sirius Black leaned on the railing right beside her, dressed as effeminately as he ever was in a long dark green tunic and corset over it. The black corset probably would have looked nice on Lily who actually had breasts to support and natural curves to reveal or even Potter despite her uncomely dark skin. On Black, it only served as a reminder of just how unnatural the man was. That wasn't even accounting for how the man had replaced one leg from the knee down with a wooded peg leg and preferred the company of women without wanting to lay with any of them.

Lily cleared her throat, drawing Severus' attention back to her instead of glaring at the banes of his existence. Her voice was mocking when she spoke. Severus ached to teach her a lesson in respecting her betters.

"Oh, don't worry," she reassured him, "this blood isn't mine. It belongs to the monsters who used to man this ship." She gave a smile full of teeth. Severus got the sense of impending doom as if a viper was about to strike. "We weren't looking for you when we took the ship, you know. We were after the slavers. Finding you before you could slink off to whatever rat hole you were planning to hide away at is an unexpected boon, but one I would relish none the less."

"Lily, my love," Severus tried in hopes to save himself, "you've changed. Where is the girl I fell in love with? This is all the fault of that bloody brute, isn't it? You don't have to do this. We can go to Dumbledore and—"

"Oh, you had better shut your trap, Snape," Black interrupted even as Severus noted the rage twisting Lily's face and concluded that he may have miscalculated. "Dumbledore is on the same list as your backstabbing self. Did you know that Dumbledore had created the war to further his own power? No? That's not surprising given how useless a pawn you actually turned out to be."

"I would love nothing better than to run you through like either of the bastards that you worked for," Lily picked up the thread. "However, that would be a far quicker death than you deserved for your crimes."

"That's seems a bit harsh, don't you think?" Severus tried. "I didn't do anything that any of you wouldn't have."

"Maybe you should think about that in greater depth while you have the time," Lily said in a flat and unimpressed tone. "Though any conclusions you come to will be between you and whatever awaits after this life." She turned towards the assembled pirates, some of whom Severus was just now noticing were women. "Set him adrift in a spare longboat. Waste no supplies on him."

No matter how loudly Severus protested, he was manhandled into one of the longboats. It was dropped into the choppy sea with a large splash as some of the pirates secured the former slave ship to the pirate ship for towing. He yelled for them to come back long after they had become specks disappearing over the horizon.

How dare they leave him like this?! The indignity of it! When Lily came back, Severus would be sure to make sure she understood just how much she had messed up this time! He had been kind so far, letting her pretend like she actually loved that blasted Potter and even allow her to go so far as to actually marry the woman, but this was the last straw.

Severus held onto his anger until thirst and sun had wrung all the energy from him. Even as he gave into the exhaustion that came with dehydration, he spared a thought for how unfair it all was.


	101. Daemons in the Library

**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

**Author's Note:** Rush job. Don't mind me.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 13); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** Bonjour-Hi; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC; Slytherin MC; Magical MC (x2); Neurodivergent; Rian-Russo Inversion (x2); Ethnic & Present (x2); The 3rd Rule; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Gender Bender; Do It For Howard; Lunar Era; Old Shoes (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); Companions; Short Jog; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Greatest Gift  
**House:** Slytherin  
**Assignment No.:** Term 13 – Assignment 03  
**Subject (Task No.):** n/a  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [499](Fox); 365 [27](Bend); Herbology Club [2-4]("They don't deserve you"); Auction [19-1]("Ah, your voice is like a song."); Pinata [Hard] (Femslash)  
**Other MC4A Challenges: **AU [1D](Daemon/Companion); Chim [Kinzie](Royal Purple); Ship (Heroic Shadow)[Sp Mic 2](Daemon AU); Fire [Hard](The Future); Garden [RAC 02](Shared Daemon/Companion)**  
Representation(s):** Desi & Autistic Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini; Always Female Harry & Blaise; Daemons & Soulmates AU  
**Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: **Lyre Liar; Most Human Bean; Muck & Slime; Abandoned Ship; Head of Perseus; In the Trench; Surprise!; Second Verse (Bechdel Test; Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Clio's Conclusion; Lovely Coconuts; Trickster's Union); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Creature Feature; Vid Tangent); Demo 1 (Inky Shadow; Over the Hills; Casper's House; Under the Bridge); Demo 2 (Call Me Dantes; Sitting Hummingbird)  
**Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terrarium); SN (Rail; Spare); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); O3 (Oath); HoSE (Schooner; Sanctuary); War (Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (Ntaiv; Kulonbozo; Enfant)  
**Word Count:** 1079

(^^)  
**Daemons in the Library**  
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Harini hid as soon as she got free from Hermione and Ron. Admittedly, she did not go very far away from them, because she still needed to study just like they did. The library was really the only place with the books they would all need in the school. Harini had heard that Ravenclaw has an expansive library of their own that the students had built since the founding of the school, but she had never seen it. Besides, she was a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw.

Maybe she should have explored her options more when the Sorting Hat had told her that she would have done well in any of the four Houses. Maybe insisting that anywhere was better than Slytherin had been a mistake. Though, given how creepily Snape swung between hating her guts and staring at her creepily, maybe that assessment hadn't been too far off.

Tucked away in one of the hidden study rooms, Harini finally felt like she could breathe. She leaned against the wall near the entrance and just enjoyed the feeling for a long moment. Alerted by the turbulent feelings, her daemon stirred under the cover of Harini's hair. Harini had not felt up to doing anything fancy this morning and had only wrestled it into a simple fishtail braid. She couldn't figure out how Parvati and Lavender managed to get the energy to pull of their fancy coils and hairdos so early in the morning. Harini just wanted to enjoy not waking up to Aunt Petunia's strident voice as she banged on the cupboard door.

"Vi—" Harini started to address the purple toad only to be interrupted by the door right beside her opening up. She let out a small, startled shriek even as she twisted away from the intruder and then stumbled as the motion made her lose her balance. Even she had to admit the resulting squeak was just as strident as anything that Aunt Petunia could achieve.

With an instinct born of years living at the Dursleys, Harini curled protectively around her tiny daemon to keep from dropping her. It also prevent whoever had followed her from being able to easily touch Violet. Trying to touch the daemon had been a favorite game of Dudley and his game. At least it wasn't as bad as when Aunt Petunia would take Violet away and lock her in specially made terrarium. That punishment was always worse than any beating Harini had ever earned.

"Hey, no," the intruder said. Harini was only vaguely aware that she had slid down the wall to better curl around her daemon. The other girl—Harini thought she might be one of the Slytherins who had been sorted at the same time as her—was crouched down in front of Harini. Her brown hands hovered around Harini like the girl wanted to touch but was waiting for some reason. "No one is going to hurt you. It's okay. Just take a deep breath—good, good, just like that."

"Ah," Harini panted as she started to calm down, "your voice is like a song. It's so pretty."

Harini felt her cheeks flush as she realized that she had just said that out loud to a complete stranger. Her dark brown skin might hide the embarrassed blush but there was no way she would be able to change the fact that she just word-vomited all over the pretty girl. Oh, and what had to be the pretty girl's daemon, a very majestic looking fox with black fur that looked very soft. The moment the fox saw that Harini had noticed him, he shoved his way into Harini's personal space to lick at her face.

Harini startled again and looked worriedly at the other girl, who looked just as confused as Harini felt, thankfully. Daemons didn't usually act like that. Or at least Harini hadn't heard of them actively seeking out affection from strangers. Family often interacted freely with each other's daemons without experiencing any discomfort or pain, not that Harini would know exactly. The Dursleys didn't allow Harini to touch any of their daemons, and it had always hurt whenever one of them touched Violet.

"I suppose I should introduce myself," the girl said after the fox had finally calmed down enough to lay his head on Harini's knees. "I'm Blaise Zabini, and that little trickster there is Maximilian."

"I'm Harini," she answered carefully, uncertain if she should assume that Blaise knew who she was since it seemed like everyone in the wizarding world did or if that would be too arrogant. She hesitated a moment before opening her hands to reveal her purple stubtoed toad. "This is Violet."

"It is very good to meet you both," Blaise said with a gentle smile. She didn't stick out a hand for Harini to shake, but Harini couldn't tell if that was because of the way she was holding Violet or if it was because Blaise was one of the wixen who just didn't have that habit. "I must admit that I was not expecting my soulmate to be you, no matter how much I've admired you from afar."

"I'm sorry," Harini said reflexively. She knew about soulmates. She did. But Aunt Petunia had always been so clear about how much of a burden Harini would be to a potential soulmate. Aunt Petunia had said that if Fate was kind, then no one would ever get stuck with Harini like she had. Max licked at the tears that had begun to leak down Harini's cheeks without her knowledge or her permission. "I'm sorry. If you want to pretend that you don't know, I won't blame you."

Max let out a soft growl that matched the one coming from Blaise. Harini covered Violet back up and ducked her head. Maybe if she made herself small enough, Blaise would just leave instead of taking out whatever had just upset her on Harini. Max instantly switched to whining as he tried to shove his way into her protective curl.

"Whoever taught you that," Blaise said with a tight sort of fury in her voice, "they don't deserve you. I'm not going to allow them anywhere near you, not anymore."

"You cah-can't," Harini protested weakly. "I have to go back. We're just kids!"

"I'll enlist my mother," Blaise declared with a sharp finality. Unable to process anything without giving into the dangerous allure of hope, Harini nodded. There would be time later to cry.


End file.
